Coming down to Earth
by Jigoku no Namida
Summary: One year. One year has passed. She lived on. He was stuck in the past. What happens when Kisshu finally can go back to Earth and Aoyama and Ichigo have broken up? Wait, have they? This is bound to become a mess...
1. Kisshu's Return

**A.N. Hello dear reader! Unlike many others on this site, I don't usually have much to say in my author's notes, so I hope you enjoy the story and review every once in a while.**

**_Something only people who've read this chapter before 27th of November will notice is that I've edited this chapter. I did this, because I thought that it must be a real pain to read such a bad chapter._**

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><p>"Ow no! Not again!" Momomiya Ichigo jumped out of her bed. She had overslept again! She had only twenty minutes before school started. Fortunately, well as far as the situation could be called fortunate, Ichigo was used to a hasty morning routine.<p>

She put on her school uniform and put two red ribbons in her hair. Then she ran downstairs, to the kitchen. There she stuffed some food and her lunch in her schoolbag, before she hurried to the front door, put her shoes on and yelled: "Bye Mom! Bye Dad!" With that said, she slammed the front door shut and so she was on her way to school.

She ran as fast as she could. Thanks to her cat-DNA she could keep on sprinting until she reached the school gates. As she entered the school grounds she mixed in with the last students that entered the school building. 'Perhaps I won't be that late after all' she thought cheerfully.

She ran up some stairs, to her classroom but as she reached the right floor and turned around the corner, she bumped into someone. "I'm so sorry!" "Ichigo?"It was her boyfriend: Aoyama Masaya. "Ow, I'm terrible sorry, Aoyama-kun!" "Doesn't matter, but Ichigo..." "Yes, Aoyama-kun?" "Could you please spare some time after school?" "Of course!" "Okay, I'll see you after school, than." "Okay, byebye!" After this brief conversation, she continued to run down the hallway and made it just in time, so the teacher spared her.

The rest of the day she was non-stop thinking about Aoyama-kun. 'What does he want to talk about? He looked so serious…' This thought made Ichigo a little worried. 'He doesn't want to dump me, right? No way!' The last dates didn't go very well, he had constantly been distracted by seemingly nothing in particular, but he wouldn't break up with her, would he?

Before she knew it school was over. Ichigo was really worried now. She thought about going home, but after much hesitation she decided to just make the best of it. Maybe he wouldn't even dump her and was it just her imagination that had gone too far. So she waited for Aoyama-kun and together they went to the park.

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><p><em>A few days earlier, on a far away planet<em>

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><p>Kisshu fell down on his bed. Damn, this day just started and he was already tired! The Mew Aqua really made a lot of changes on his planet, but still he couldn't feel happy at all. All this time he had felt nothing but depression and fatigue. By now everybody knew why. Because of her. One of the most painful memories of his life: A red-haired girl with two ribbons in her hair, two brown eyes and a smile that made his heart melt. Kitty Cat. His Kitty Cat."A year already" he whispered. It has been a year ago since he saw that girl for the last time. 'Why don't you just forget about her?' He asked himself almost everyday. But it stayed painful to know he would never see her again. Ichigo..<p>

All he had left now were the memories of her, because Pai had prohibited him to go to Earth, as it would 'cause nothing but trouble'. Yeah right. But Pai was not a guy to mess around with when really serious. So he would never see Earth again. Never see her againThen someone knocked on the door of his bedroom. "What do you want?" Kisshu yelled annoyed. "I've got something I gotta tell you!" Taruto yelled back from behind the door.

Kisshu let out a sigh. Well, whatever, he had nothing better to do anyway. "Come in!" Taruto teleported in, next to Kisshu's bed, looking positively sat straight up on his bed. "What do you want to tell me?" He grumbled. He had nothing better to do, but he didn't like all the happiness that Taruto was emitting. "I've been complaining to Pai, because I miss Earth.." 'Liar.' "You just miss your monkey girl.."

Taruto turned pink and scowled. "I don't! But the point is Pai gave in! He thought up a research as cover.. So, are you going with us?" 'He's got to be kidding.'Kisshu couldn't believe what he heard. He could go back! He could go back! His mind instantly formed all kinds of scenario's for his first encounter with Ichigo since he left. As he fantasised away, he became absolutely oblivious to Taruto's presence, until he broke the silence.

"Hello? Somebody there?" Taruto asked. "Huh? Yeah, of course I'm coming with you! Somebody gotta watch you guys. You might do something stupid." Kisshu said, as the spark that had left his eyes long ago, reappeared and a smirk once again grew. Like Kisshu had gone back in time.

"Yeah, right! You just want to go back to that cat girl!" Taruto replied, secretly glad to see his friend come back to the world of the living.

"Perhaps...But can you prove that? Maybe I'm just a good friend that feels the need to watch over you.." Kisshu countered playfully. "Pffft, whatever! Pack your stuff, we're outta here!" Taruto said, knowing that trying to fight with Kisshu now would only end in a failure. "You say it.." Kisshu murmured, as Taruto teleported away.

'Wait for me, Kitty Cat! I'm on my way!'

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><p><em>On Earth, those few days back forward<em>

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><p>Ichigo had been right. Aoyama-kun had dumped her, because of another girl. Ichigo was furious when he told her that this afternoon. She yelled at him at first, but then she started to cry and ran away. He had yelled after her, but didn't chase her, luckily. She didn't know if she could've handled she was lying on her bed. She was still crying, her pillow was soaked. She couldn't stop, she had been like this for hours and still she couldn't stop. Until she heard something.<p>

It was a weird sound, but it sounded oddly familiar. So she stood up, walked to the window and looked around outside. She turned around as Masha, who never had been removed from her cellphone, appeared and stated: "Alien alert! Alien alert!"

'What? But...' This couldn't be true. Masha must have been mistaken. The aliens went back to their planet a year ago. They couldn't be here. He couldn't be here. Impossible.

"Aww.. Was my little Kitty Cat crying? Shall I comfort you with a little kiss?"

Ichigo turned around and indeed, there he was. The dark green-haired alienboy with his big pointy ears, his golden eyes, his pale skin, his puffy clothes and he had his typical grin on his was frozen in disbelieve. This couldn't be. And yet he was there; almost a feet of the ground and no more than two feet away from her.

"What do you look shocked, Kitty Cat. It's not the first time we meet, is it?"

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><p><strong>A.N. Review please! <strong>

**I've done my best to correct the story as a whole. I've edited this chapter, because it was a year (or two) old and as modest as I hope to be about my writing, the chapter didn't do my recent writing much justice. Also, I noticed that this chapter had a lot of views, but the second didn't. Conclusion: The chapter was a major put-off... XD**

**So I tried to correct it a little. on the 27th of November and today, December 8th, I hope to straighten the lay-out up a bit.**


	2. Confusion and Crying

**A.N. This is still not what it ought to be either. It's old, just like the first chapter. Once I have enough time I will edit it.**

**I hope you enjoy it anyway.**

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><p>"But I-I…. You… How…?"<p>

After stammering that, Ichigo started mumbling words which were intelligible, even for Kisshu. He felt his grin widen and his eyebrow rise at this, without actually meaning to. It was in the same second that he realised his dear Kitty Cat would eventually pull herself together and start throwing a fit about how stupid he was for doing what he had done and all that. Yep, she just stopped talking. Three. Two. One….

"What are you doing here anyways? And what were you even thinking, startling me like that, appearing out of nowhere after a whole year! Couldn't you at least contact me before…"

Oh hell, she was predictable. 'I wouldn't want it any other way.' Kisshu thought grinning, even in his thoughts. He didn't even really know what she was saying. He heard her, alright, the sweet sound of her voice that he had missed for so long, he just didn't bother to process the words. Even though he never stopped smirking and grinning like an idiot, he didn't do anything, but merely watched her, noticing every little difference that her appearance had undergone while he was away.

She hadn't grown much taller and wore the same uniform he had seen her wear so often when he first had been to Earth. If he recalled correctly, it was a custom that students wore uniforms at their schools here. The big chocolate brown eyes hadn't changed either, fortunately. Neither had her ears, her nose, her mouth. Only Her lovely strawberry red hair had grown about an inch longer, soft as always, tickling her cheeks which were flushed because of her ongoing fury, the tracks of her tears running down them…

Wait a second! It was then that Kisshu finally registered the tears which had only a moment ago stopped cascading down her beautiful face. He had teased her about it just now, but failed to fully understand the meaning of it. He was way too happy to see her again to see that she was so obviously distressed. What had happened?

Meanwhile, Ichigo had to catch her breath and was about to resume her mindless rant as Kisshu's grin suddenly seemed to fall of his face and something in his eyes sparked, as if he had an epiphany. 'Oh God, I must look awful!' Ichigo thought panicking , not quite knowing why. This was Kisshu after all. This annoying, playful and absolutely stubborn alien had seen her in far worse situations, so why would she bother? Her train of thought was interrupted by the same alien that occupied her mind. "Ichigo.." he began. Oh no, his use of her first name was not a good sign. "What happened?"

The simplicity of the question caught her off guard. She never knew what to expect from him, but this was definitely far from any expectations. He was very serious, his golden eyes looked straight into her chocolate-brown ones and just one moment, Ichigo wondered if he was able to see her very soul. The look he gave her was more intense than any look he ever had given her before (or had she just always failed to notice?) and he seemed to be drilling his way into her mind, as if searching for the answer himself.

Ichigo almost drowned in those pools of gold, when she realized he was still waiting for her to answer. She opened her mouth to speak, to say it was none of his business, to tell him to bugger off, yet as she tried to desperately push the words across her lips, all that came out was a sob. And another one. And another one.

Kisshu, for the first time in ages, was so badly startled that couldn't think of anything to say. The cheeky, troublesome alien was at a total loss of words. Words didn't seem necessary though, because a moment later she was in his arms. He didn't know who of them had closed the distance. Had he rushed forward or had she thrown herself on him? Or a little bit of both? Not that it mattered, fact was that she was there, not an illusion, not a dream.

No, this was real. He was really in her room, both feet planted firmly on the ground, both his arms around her, one hand stroking her hair reassuringly. And she was really there, leaning her head on his shoulder crying her eyes out, soaking his shirt completely, while clinging to him like her life depended on it. Still, what the hell was going on? What made her cry like this? What made her run right into his arms for comfort? It must be pretty serious.

'Probably her _boyfriend's _got something to do with it.' Kisshu thought bitterly. Even thinking about that pathetic excuse of a human being infuriated him. Kisshu had had a whole year to get over it and you could give him another hundred, he still wouldn't be able to like Aoyama Masaya even a little tad more. He loathed the guy, could watch him burn alive and feast on his remains. Some things just never change.

Yet this was not the moment to think about such trivial matters. Right now, Ichigo needed some support and he seemed to be the only one able to give her just that. So he stayed with her like that, holding her, stroking her hair, until she fell asleep in his arms, exhausted and drained from all her energy. That's when he as silently and gently as he could, laid her down in her bed, pulling the covers up to her chin, wiped the tears of her face, which now luckily looked more peaceful, and after cherishing her face for a moment or two, he kissed her forehead, turned to the window and took off into the moonless night.

That night was the night of the new moon. 'Shame.' Kisshu thought. 'Such a clear night like this one would have been perfect, had there been a full moon…' He couldn't help but sigh. Hell, he had missed this place.

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><p><strong>A.N. Review please?<strong>


	3. One Made Up Mind, One Messed Up Mind

**A.N. Slowly, but surely, the story is getting better, in my opinion. **

**Have fun reading!**

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><p>How long had he sat there, on the exact same spot? Kisshu had long since lost track of time. He just sat there on the edge of roof of some insignificant building, his elbow supported by his knee and his palm supporting his face, wasting his mind away with questions. It had been three days since his slightly awkward reunion with his all time favourite kitty. And he was stuck. What was he supposed to do now? When he had arrived on Earth he had expected everything to be just like always. Except the fighting for world domination, of course.<p>

But instead he finds his usually cheerful object of affection in tears and she astounds him by using his shoulder to cry on, quite literally. From what he had observed the day after that, her boyfriend had broken up with her.

Oh, how he wished to murder the boy. How he longed to, without pardon, rip that idiot's guts out and make him eat them. Yes, would he ever get the chance to end that damned tree-hugger's life, he would make it terrifyingly slow and gruesomely painful. 'Sadly, Ichigo still hasn't got over the bastard yet.' Kisshu thought sourly. 'His death will have to wait.'

This was where Kisshu's dilemma started. What should he do? Immediately starting to coax her seemed awfully inappropriate. But waiting was bound to end bad, too. He never was very lucky when it came to Ichigo and if he waited, he risked the chance that some other arse would show up and sweep her off her feet.

So how could he win her over? Should he ask Taruto and Pai for some advice? Kisshu quickly shook the thought off. 'Yeah right, let's ask a socially awkward nerd and a kid how to seduce a girl. Pai'd probably give me a complete scientific lecture about how the female human brain works and Taruto'd probably shrug and give me a how-the-hell-am-I-supposed-to-know-I-don't-even-care look.' Kisshu chuckled silently.

However, he had to make up his mind soon. She started to wonder what he's up to. He had followed her every morning to the place she called 'school' and noticed how she kept searching the sky, while at the same time trying to do it as unsuspicious as possible (and failing miserably, by the way). You don't have to be a genius to figure out that she was looking for him, suspecting him to just pop into view out of nowhere. He didn't show up though.

This was, after all, a crucial point. How he decided to approach her now, would decide how they would go on from here. Kisshu didn't like to admit it, but he knew this and he was scared. He just didn't want to waste it all now. She finally didn't have to see him as 'just the enemy she has to defeat', she would be able to see him as a person, as the living being he was. It was, against all the laws of nature, already proofed that she at least trusted him a bit, because you wouldn't let someone you don't trust hold you.

Someone she trusts…

Kisshu sighed. And suddenly he knew what his plan of action would be. It would take some patience and self-control, but it was nothing he couldn't manage. He sat up straight for what felt like the first time in ages, but every bit of his body seemed to now burn with renewed energy. He kicked off into the air with so much enthusiasm that he could hear the stone underneath his feet crack a little. Now he knew what he would do, he couldn't wait to see her. Besides Kisshu was never the type to sit still for so long.

For once he was lucky, because school just ended as he got there and apparently Ichigo had decided to go for a walk in the park, for he saw a all too familiar redhead move towards the trees and the grass fields. 'Hell yeah! Perfect!' Kisshu mentally pumped his fist into the air. Where better have a private conversation than in a deserted park that already held so many memories? Kisshu dived towards the trees. In his enthusiasm he failed to notice that there was another making his way to the redhead as well.

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><p>To say Ichigo was confused, would be an understatement. While she made her way to school (she was for once in her life EARLY) she began to think about that night again. She remembered him being there, holding her and comforting her, not even knowing what was going on, probably. However, when she woke up she was in her bed and he was nowhere to be seen. Clearly, she must have dreamt it up, after your boyfriend broke up with you, it was pretty logical to dream about a guy who claimed to love you more than anything.<p>

Still Ichigo couldn't quite believe it. His presence lingered all over the place, it was weird, but she just **knew** he had been there. Than how come he never visited her again these last three days? It was absolutely unlike him to not daily beg for a kiss or two… Ichigo giggled to herself. 'How can I think about it so carelessly? I never realised that Kisshu trying to kiss me became part of my daily routines!'

Anyhow, it still was strange. Where did he go? What was he doing? Had he lost interest in her?

She searched the sky for the umpteenth time, still trying to be as unsuspicious as possible, while doing so, even though she felt like it just made her look stupid.

She didn't know that she had arrived at school until she heard Miwa and Moe call her name. She turned her head to look at them and froze in shock. There, right next to Moe, looking Ichigo right in the eye was Aoyama Masaya. He smiled at her and silently and unnoticed by her friends beckoned her to come to him. He wanted to talk. Ichigo inwardly sighed and made her way to the three. 'Here goes nothing.' she thought, while she looked up at the boy who broke her heart barely three days ago. Her friends seemed to have evaporated into thin air. 'Traitors.' she thought while feeling quite let down.

"Good morning, Momomiya-san. How are you doing? Are you fine?" She wasn't even close to being fine! She merely nodded, choosing to look at her shoes now, because they seemed to grown more interesting by the moment. Aoyama spoke again. "Well, I'm not fine. I treated you badly, breaking up with you all of a sudden, after dating for almost a year. I want to make it up to you and hope you'll forgive me and take me back, so will you please do me the honour of meeting in the park with me this afternoon?"

Ichigo looked up at him in shock, with her eyes wide open and her mouth completely dry. She processed his words and finally, after what seemed centuries of silence she opened her mouth and quietly said: "I'd love to." At that Aoyama shot her a stunning smile. "Alright, I'll see you after school in the park! You won't regret it, I promise!" with that he turned and made his leave, while Ichigo tried to make sense of the mess that was her mind.

She felt delighted and happy, as if she could start singing and dancing right then and there, but something was gnawing at the edge of her happy thoughts. She couldn't quite place it, but it made her think of golden eyes and forest green hair. She shrugged it off and started skipping her way to the classroom, as classes where about to start. This afternoon was sure to become eventful.

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><p><strong>A.N. Reviews are highly appreciated, you know? =P<strong>


	4. Feelings Arise

**A.N. All I have to say is:**

**Have fun, I hope you like it, I tried my best.**

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><p>As Ichigo made her way to the park, tons of questions and thoughts flew in and out of her mind. Why did Aoyama-kun suddenly change his mind? What about the girl he had said he was in love with? Why wasn't she in heaven, like she was supposed to? Didn't she love him anymore?<p>

'Aaaah! So many questions, it hurts!' Ichigo shook her head, hoping it would make all the questions vanish. If she only were that lucky… She then arrived at Aoyama's and her bench and sat down, waiting for the boy.

What she hadn't expected though, was that another boy had made his way to her. What he in return hadn't expected, was that in his enthusiasm to get to her, he accidentally got stuck in the tree four metres away from her and because of his speed fell face-first out of it! But he certainly didn't lack reflexes, he caught himself by placing his hands on the ground and making a flip. Then again, it wasn't his lucky day and he ended up, God knows how, with his face at Ichigo's feet, his arms stretched forward and the rest of his body laid flat on the ground.

"Kish!" 'A nickname?' 'Kish' thought, before answering: "Oh, hi Ichigo, how are ya doin'?" "I'd better ask you! Are you alright?" Concern was written all over her face and even though Kisshu didn't want her to worry, he liked the attention she was giving him. It was pretty unnecessary, he didn't even have a scratch on him (thank whoever was up there, he was an alien!), but still it's the thought that counts.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm quite alright, thanks." he said, while getting back up on his feet and slapping imaginary dust of him. The sight must have been hilarious, because Ichigo burst into giggles. Kisshu looked at her, the confusion clear in his eyes. But her giggling had now turned into a queen size laughing fit. Her laughter filled the air and birds nearby took off, startled by the sound.

Kisshu still didn't get what was so funny about the whole event, to him it was actually quite painful and embarrassing, yet she wouldn't stop laughing! Now she held her sides, as if her belly would explode if she didn't.

He looked at her in wonder, she was so beautiful when she laughed. Like a goddess. Hell, she was gorgeous! Though what surprised him even more than her beauty, was the fact that HE had caused this. He made her laugh! He felt the usual small grin on his face grow into a huge smile. He thought he'd never see the day that he would make her laugh. Yet… How did he do it?

She finally seemed to calm down and come to her senses. She let go of her sides and sat up straight as if mentally dignifying herself. "So, what are you doing here anyway?" she asked. 'Tell her..!' Kisshu thought. "That's a very good question, I hoped you would ask me." '..Now..!' "You see..-" "Ichigo! Where are you?" '..What the…'

In an instance three things happened: One, Ichigo jumped up from her bench and turned her head towards the sound. Two, the bastard that was supposed to be her _ex_-boyfriend appeared from around the corner. Three… Ichigo pushed poor unknowing Kish into some bushes on the side of the path.

Needlessly to say, Kisshu was completely taken aback by this. He recovered quickly though and being the nosy alien he was, he decided to find out what those two had to meet up for.

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><p>Obviously, Ichigo had wanted him to leave and while making the regular small talk with Aoyama-kun she indeed shot some anxious looks in what she thought was his direction. She knew he wouldn't leave like that, but there was next to nothing she could do about it now.<p>

So she just followed Aoyama-kun to whatever he had planned. To her surprise, he lead her to the, to her, too familiar cherry tree. So much had happened here. This place held so many memories. Like when Kish and she fought and she put her nails in his cheek. His pale, smooth and, truth be told, rather soft chee- 'Snap out off it!' Ichigo mentally slapped herself. 'What am I doing, thinking about his cheek?'

"Ichigo…?" Aoyama-kun asked her softly. "Huh, uh, yes?" Ichigo replied, pushing all thoughts away that didn't have anything to do with the handsome boy in front of her.

"Ichigo Momomiya, I am truly and deeply sorry for what I must have put you through.." 'Oh, he's so sweet! Don't faint Ichigo, don't faint!'

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><p>'Hell yeah, he should be! Stupid arse for making her cry like that!' Kisshu thought angrily, watching the entire thing happen from a tree about ten metres away from them. From this point he had a clear view of their profiles and proximity. "You must forgive me, for I do not think I will be able to live without you…" 'What the fuck is this? Some kind of proposal?' Kisshu's patience was wearing dangerously thin, but he decided against killing the boy.<p>

His only reason NOT to rip the guy's arms, legs, romp and finally his head to pieces on the freaking spot, was the look of anticipation and hope on Ichigo's face. Killing the arse would mean giving her a reason to hate him. No, he had to stay put, even if it was for no-one but her.

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><p>"So.. Ichigo.." Aoyama-kun whispered, while leaning closer to her. Ichigo's heart rate sped up and the blood rushed to her head, turning her face from normal skin colour to tomato-red as she looked right into his brown eyes. She could see so much details from up close. "Y-Yeah..?" she stuttered. "Look down." She immediately did as he said to see the words carved into the ground:<p>

_ICHIGO, I LOVE YOU. PLEASE BE MY GIRLFRIEND?_

That was it. It was all it took to make her make up her mind. She felt like jumping, singing, dancing… But she still had to respond! She slowly looked up to see that he hadn't distanced himself at all. If anything, he had come even closer! 'What was that sudden breeze?' she wondered for a split second. Then she dropped it and concentrated on her beloved Aoyama-kun.

Ichigo gulped and stared into his eyes and she would have forgotten to answer, had those eyes not stared right back at her, questioning. One moment she held her breath, she felt like she was living her dream.

"Yes." she whispered breathless and softly. He apparently didn't need another word from her, as he suddenly closed the distance between their lips and gently, as if she were fragile, kissed her.

It was a pretty strange feeling though, because Ichigo answered almost immediately by kissing him back, falling into his pace, but somewhere inside her, she felt disappointed. This was a moment she had looked forward to for so long, yet she wasn't completely satisfied. Something was missing. What was it?

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><p>He head to strain his ears a bit now to make out what was said. "So.. Ichigo…Look down." that poor excuse of a human being had said. Now what was she looking at? Seeing that they were both very absorbed into each other, Kisshu dared to momentarily teleport into the cherry tree, looking down past them.<p>

_OVE YOU. PLEASE BE MY GI_

He couldn't read the rest of it. But he didn't need anymore to understand what the message was. He teleported back to the tree and in his hurry to get away he made so much speed that he probably created some slight breeze. Not that they would notice. They were to indulged into each other. The thought made him sick.

He concentrated on watching again. She still had to answer. There was hope, however little it may be, there was hope that she would reject him, turn around and go home.

"Yes." she whispered. Gone. All hope on the succession of his new tactic, gone. With one little word his whole world seemed to shatter. Again. He felt like he could throw up. But that wasn't all. As if he didn't already take enough..

The fucking smartass, damn perfect tree-hugger bent down and kissed her on her strawberry lips! That was it. The final straw. Kisshu felt something snap in his head and chest.

Then the all-consuming hatred boiled once again inside of him. Like it always had, like it always would. This guy would go DOWN. Slow and painful his death would be. To the depths of Hell or beyond he would go, even if Kisshu personally had to drag him there! 'You want war? It's on, bitch!' Kisshu thought furiously. He observed his surroundings and then grinned evilly. 'Starting right now!'

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><p><strong>A.N. Leave a review or quickly click the other nice button to the next chapter! XD<strong>


	5. Impossible Friendship is Formed

**A.N. Here I am, once again, hoping this chapter is better than the last.**

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><p>After what seemed ages he removed his lips from hers and at that exact moment all hell seemed to break loose. The wind seemed to pick up and it wasn't a slight breeze, it was a terrible gale! It separated her from her dear boyfriend and while all kind of random objects like stones, pipes, sticks, leaves, shards of glass and big branches seemed to attack him and land a hit on him wherever possible, she stayed completely unharmed.<p>

She even managed to move to whatever place she wanted except to him. He had cuts and bruises all over him by now and yelled at her, telling her to run, and sometimes he let out a horrible scream, because of the pain. She ran from his view into another clearing.

Ichigo had almost immediately understood what must be going on. "KISSHU!" she shouted at some random innocent trees. "STOP IT!" "You called me?" an unbothered, almost bored voice behind her asked. She turned around quickly, looking directly into a pair of golden eyes that just screamed mischief. He was barely two metres away, still she yelled, to show him she was not amused. "YOU!"

And to empathize exactly how not amused she was, she took hold of the pendant she still always had on her person. 'I hope it still works!' she thought nervously. "Mew Mew Strawberry Metamorphosis!" A moment later Mew Ichigo stood there and struck her pose (Nya~!).

"Make it stop or you'll regret it!" Now Kisshu started to look annoyed. He looked annoyed! The insolence of him! "Don't look at me like that and STOP IT!" "Why is it always ME at fault here?" Kisshu replied, his annoyance turned into anger. Ichigo was completely shocked. Kisshu only stared at her, but he could as well have roared 'HOW'S IT FAIR?' in her face.

The gale turned into a breeze and Aoyama-kun dropped on the ground and was unconscious. Ichigo didn't hear it, even though the sound it produced echoed into the clearing. All she saw now was Kisshu. "I was just talking to you. I wanted to tell you something, but that guy barely turned around the corner or I'm pushed away into the bushes. It's not fair!"

Ichigo felt the tears forming in her eyes. How true his words were. He had lowered his gaze to the ground at his feet, looking utterly defeated. She hated it when he did that! Before she knew it she had him in her arms. At first his body stiffened entirely. He certainly hadn't seen this one coming! After a second he relaxed and wrapped his arms around her too.

He buried his face into her hair, memorising the enchanting smell of strawberries. His hold tightened slightly, he wasn't about to let go. She didn't even come close to thinking of moving away, as she rested her forehead on his shoulder, trying to remember the moment's every tiny detail.

They embraced each other like that for a moment. To them it felt like seconds, but in fact they stood there for minutes, barely moving, barely breathing. Just now they realised how much one had missed the other, how both of them had actually NEEDED this.

Still, moments like this never last forever and there came a point that Kisshu broke the silence.

"Koneko-chan..?" "Hmmm?" He called her that nickname again. That's a good sign. "Can I ask you somethin'?" Uh-oh. Where was this conversation going? "Sure..?" Her answer sounded more like a question on it's own. Stupid!

"Can we be… _friends?" _"Friends?" Ichigo gasped. What was this? "Yeah, you know… Like… buddies.. Or pals or… comrades, companions or… whatever you call it." Never in her whole life had she seen him this uncomfortable. And yet, here he was, forcing the awkward words out of his mouth. Ichigo couldn't quite understand him.

Then again, when did she? He was a walking mystery to her. He never did what she expected him to. Nor did he ever do anything he was supposed to do anyway. Every moment with him seemed an adventure, a big surprise. It was very tiring, to say the least, but Ichigo couldn't even make herself believe that it wasn't in more ways than one also pretty endearing too. He always had something fun up his sleeve.

'Aaah! I dozed off again!' Ichigo shook her head violently, in order to get her brains to wake up. Kisshu had been looking in an other direction, waiting for her to respond, and now turned to face her again, expecting an answer.

"Uhmm… Yeah, sure… Why not? …I mean if you want to be, we could try and see…" Ichigo was staring at her feet again, as red as a tomato now and she didn't even know why! What was this guy doing with her mind?

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><p>Kisshu's whole face lit up as she replied to his pretty simple question. He couldn't have hoped for a more positive answer. They now were officially friends. Sadly, she was, once again, in possession of a boyfriend. So instead of having her growing to love him, he would have to live with being just a friend.<p>

He had decided this when they had hugged each other. Having her all around him, even the air had worn her scent, had calmed his mind. It became very obvious that fighting the tree hugger was bringing him not an inch closer to his goal. It also became painfully clear that she wouldn't, couldn't ever love him like he loved her. Kisshu made up his mind: He had to be a man and get over it.

That's how he settled his hopes on gaining her friendship. And she accepted.

Kisshu couldn't contain himself. He grabbed her firmly around her waist, lifted her up in the air and twirled on the spot with her in his arms. "I promise you won't regret it, Kitten!" he exclaimed happily. This made Ichigo smile. Oh, he absolutely loved her smiles!

"Uh… Kish… Could you put me down, please? You're strangling me…" she said breathlessly. "Oh, yeah, sorry…" he replied sheepishly, putting her down. She was stumbling a bit, trying to regain her balance and to keep her from falling, Kisshu held her upper arm.

"Stay away from her!" Oh c'mon! It seemed like someone up there hated him.

Barely a second later Kisshu let go of Ichigo, for the sake of not loosing his freaking hand! He flew about ten metres backwards.

There he stood, in front of Ichigo now, separating them, the Blue Knight. Although Kisshu resented the guy for ruining his damn moment, he was pleased to see that the bastard had some wounds on him, even after transforming into the Blue Knight. He was evidently weakened. Still he stood there, his sword raised, glaring at him, as if he really could protect the confused girl behind him from Kisshu. It was nearly an insult on it's own…

But his purpose now was not, repeat NOT, fighting that loathsome arsehole, but come to an agreement. Even when thinking it Kisshu had to try really hard to not gag.

"Whoa, whoa, whoooaaa! Relax, Romeo! I didn't come here to hurt your recently reacquired girlfriend -Congratulations, by the way-, but to, in fact, befriend her. Savvy?"

The tree hugger lowered his sword and his glare was replaced by a confused look which still screamed contempt, as did Kisshu's own, probably. Then distrust made it's way into those too-blue-eyes. He raised his sword again. How pathetic… "I don't believe you!"

"Masaya, don't!" Ichigo tried to pull him back, but he already charged Kisshu, running straight at him. The latter sighed tiredly. Just when the Blue Knight brought down his sword to cut Kisshu in half and Ichigo let out a desperate scream, Kisshu finally moved.

He grabbed the Blue Knight's wrists and twisted them in a weird angle, making him drop his sword. Then he lazily kicked the sword into some bushes, five metres away and it was over. The Blue Knight was nothing without his sword and he knew it. So he distanced himself from Kisshu, still blocking the way to Ichigo.

Kisshu was running out of patience very fast and Ichigo could sense that. She quickly moved to the Blue Knight's side and explained him what was going on, while he tried to interrupt her and tell her to take back her words and sever all contact. But she wouldn't hear of it.

"He means no harm! He just wants to be friends! That's no big deal, right? Why can't I?" she almost made it sound like she was a little kid, begging for candy. Her boyfriend sighed. "Ichigo, we cannot trust him. He might try to steal you away again. I don't want to lose you! So please, for the sake of our love, don't do this Ichigo!"

"Would you just shut the hell up?" Kisshu all but shouted. He took a breath to calm himself before he continued. "Look… You don't like me and I don't like you, okay, everyone knows that. But I promise you, you may personally chop me into tiny pieces, if Ichigo is ever harmed in ANY way, because of me. I don't care if you don't believe anything else I tell you, but just trust me on that. That you even dare to suggest that I would consciously cause her hurt, is a foul insult to me."

The couple looked at him as if they had witnessed the Hell freezing over. A slight blush crept upon Ichigo's cheeks. "Kish…." she whispered.

The Blue Knight entered a staring contest with Kisshu, as if trying to detect a lie. When he finally seemed to conclude that there was no lie, he transformed back into Masaya Aoyama. Seeing that as her cue to turn back into Ichigo Momomiya, Mew Ichigo too undid her transformation…

Only to be dragged away by her boyfriend, sending Kisshu a sad glance and a wave, before disappearing out of his sight.

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><p><strong>A.N. You have several options:<strong>

**1. The review button**

**2. The 'Next' button**

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**Don't you just love choices? ^^**


	6. Arguments and Bigger Trouble

**A.N. I have the hope to finish this story before the end of 2011. So far, so good, huh?**

**Enjoy the chapter!**

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><p>'That bastard just ran of with her this afternoon!' Kisshu was slightly annoyed, though he hadn't expected much better from the tree hugger. Ichigo had obviously not wanted to go, considering the sad look she had given him before being dragged off by the dear boy that she believed to be the love of her life.<p>

Kisshu sighed. Kisshu had, of course, followed them to Aoyama's house to make sure Ichigo would be alright. He had been waiting up in this damn tree for hours and still Ichigo and the Aoyama-arse were arguing. This too proved that Ichigo and her love didn't completely see eye to eye. Boyfriend's parents were both away, so neither half of the couple refrained from yelling.

This was making it a lot easier for Kisshu to overhear their conversation. In fact, the whole neighbourhood could hear them just fine if they cared enough to poke their heads out of the window and listen.

'Well, this is bound to be a very long and happy relationship.' thought Kisshu sarcastically to himself. Even though he liked it that Aoyama-prat was not helping his own case, by directly after making up entering an argument, Kisshu couldn't help the little nudging feeling at the back of his mind. They were fighting because of him, after all.

He knew Ichigo didn't want to fight her boyfriend, but her temper had always been fiery, so there was no way in hell that she would back down now. However, all to clearly, she was at the verge of tears. All she wanted was that her boyfriend would accept her friendship with a former enemy, but he didn't want to hear of it.

He tried to make her see that such a friendship would bring nothing but trouble. He revived tons of old memories that Kisshu had wished to forget. How he had hurt her, his Ichigo, in more ways than one, how he had once even gone wild, after she had once again refused to come with him. It pained him to get all those things shoved back in his face again.

His being warmed up, when he heard how Ichigo waved all the blames off as exactly what they were: The past. She insisted that since he had returned, he had more pleasant to be around. Less perverted, not trying to make her leave Earth with him… It was marvellous to hear how she described him.

She definitely had come to like him. In such a short period of time, too. Something most certainly had changed, both of them had changed. They must have, otherwise she couldn't be so attached to him already. Kisshu quickly stopped wondering, THEY had gone quiet.

He heard the loser say that he needed time to think things over and that it would be better if she came back to visit him after dinner. She shyly agreed and turned to leave. But Ao-whatever wrapped his arms around her and before she left he hugged and kissed the top of her head.

She left the building, blushing like mad.

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><p>"Absolutely not!" Shintaro Momomiya practically yelled across the dinner table. "But dad! I already promised Masaya I would come! Besides it's only a five to ten minute walk from here! What could go wrong?" Ichigo shouted back while standing up, dropping her poor chair on the ground in process. Not that she cared.<p>

"You never know what roams the streets these days, so NO, Ichigo Momomiya, you are not leaving this house tonight!" Shintaro exclaimed. "Shhh, darling. Let her go. She is young and in love, like we were too, and even if you forbid her, she'll sneak out anyway, you know that very well." Sakura Momomiya shushed her husband calmly, winking at her daughter at the end of her sentence.

"But..-" "My love, she's fourteen already, you should trust her a bit more." "Thanks, mom!" Ichigo kissed her mother's cheek, picked up her chair and got upstairs to prepare herself. 'We're going to talk heart-to-heart and sort things out tonight. It'll all be fine. Ow, I can't wait, nya~!'

Ichigo got her jacket, opened the front door, yelled a "I'm off, goodbye!" into the direction of the kitchen and off she was. She skipped through the streets and hummed a melody she heard on the radio a while ago.

Sometimes she thought she heard something and she looked around, half-expecting Kisshu to appear out of nowhere. He didn't. 'I wonder where he is.' "Kish?" she whispered, hoping he'd come out, she would like some company right now. She didn't understand why, but she had seen the guy only twice in a period of four days and she started to yearn for his company.

Not that he would ever know. What would he think of her if he did? He wanted to be just friends, it seemed. Had he got over his love for her? And why did she care so much?

Ichigo was so absorbed in her thoughts that she didn't notice that a hand lightly took hold of her shoulder and guided her towards destination, making sure she wouldn't walk into a wall or trip.

She was woken from her reveries when she heard someone breathlessly whisper her name in the nap of her neck. She spun around, but there was no-one there. 'Must have been my imagination…' Then she realised with a start that she was at Masaya's front door.

'How did I get here?' she wondered, before shrugging it off as her automatic pilot towards her love. Suddenly a pair of golden eyes made it's way into her mind, but she resolutely pushed it aside and ringed the doorbell.

Barely two seconds later her boyfriend answered the door. Had he been waiting for her? Obviously, he had. "Come in." he said politely. "Yes, thank you." was the reply she gave him, while stepping past him, into the house.

This time, his parents were home and came to greet her warmly, as if she had always been part of the family. For a moment, Ichigo forgot why she had come in the first place and happily chatted with them, before Masaya brought her back to Earth and asked her to join him upstairs. She let out an invisible sigh and followed him.

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><p>She hadn't even noticed him pushing and pulling her shoulder! She really got too lost in her own mind..<p>

If she had taken that pink fluffy robot-thing with her, she would have known. Too bad that the poor thing was locked up in one of her drawers. She hadn't remembered to take it with her for days.

Too bad for her, that is. Kisshu didn't mind at all, because obviously he could now keep an eye on her without her knowing. Anyway, back to business.

He had positioned himself in his tree again. He strained his ears a bit, so he could pick up the sound that made it's way out of the open window next to his tree. It was the window of the living room, where apparently Ichigo was chitchatting with the tree hugger's parents.

Nothing important, so Kisshu relaxed and lay down on a thick branch, waiting for the private conversation that was inevitable tonight. After nearly half an hour he could hear two pairs of feet climbing the stairs. He also vaguely noticed it was getting dark pretty fast.

It was very hard to hear what they said, so he flew to window. There was nothing close too stand on, not even a ledge, so he had to float beside the window, hoping that neither of them would bother to look outside. The streetlights had been switched on and his shadow was visible from the tree hugger's window.

They were raising their voices again. Kisshu sighed. 'This is going to be a lóng night…'

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><p>Finally he had accepted it. He would not resent her for befriending Kisshu, if she in return told him immediately if anything seemed suspicious or if Kisshu even made her feel uncomfortable. There was no doubt in her mind that if she ever did tell Masaya anything of that kind had happened, he would try to hunt Kisshu down and kill him. However, this afternoon it seemed all to clear that Kisshu was a lot stronger than before and it would be a piece of cake for him to defeat Masaya.<p>

Either way, it wouldn't end very well. Ichigo already decided that if Kisshu tried anything, she would never turn to Masaya, for the sake of his safety. 'And possibly Kish's too..' a little voice in the back of her mind.

Anyway, she was on her way back home and seriously wished for some company. It was pretty late and in the distance she could hear the loud music of the pubs and drunks attempting to sing along. It made a shiver crawl up her spine.

The hairs on the back of her neck stood up as she heard staggering footsteps closing in on her. Panic flared through her entire being and she quickened her pace, turning into an alleyway, hoping to lose whoever it was behind her.

But the footsteps followed her, no matter how many turns she made. She was like cat being hunted by a dog. A clearly completely intoxicated dog. She turned around another corner..

Walking into a dead end! She was cornered. Her knees started shaking, her palms became sweaty and her eyes widened in fear. What now? She had to get out of here, but the walls were too smooth to climb and she was entirely paralyzed.

In the light of the waxing crescent she could see a totally intoxicated man in his early forties turn around the corner and look at her hungrily with his bloodshot beady eyes. All he wore was a simple suit and his tie hung loosely around his fat neck and the first buttons of his blouse were open. He grinned at her stupidly and in no time he was only inches away from her.

His breath smelled horrible and his dirty hands where all over her. She tried to push him off, but he was too strong. He then tried to get under her shirt. It was too much, she was terrified and helpless and as he tried to take hold of her breast she could only scream for the first person that came in mind.

"KISSHU!"

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><p><strong>A.N. Well, you have to admit, that's a cliffhanger.<strong>

**As a reader, I hate those bitches. As an author, I love them! ^^**

**Review or continue!**


	7. Saviour and Sleepover

**A.N. Ichigo is about to get... violated... What will happen?**

**Read and find out! XD**

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><p>Damn it! Why was he such a lazy idiot? How could he be so freaking stupid? He took a damn nap and now she was gone! Curse that tree hugger for his boring monologue about his love and care and fear and… who fucking cares? It made him take a seat in a damn tree and fall asleep!<p>

And now he had to find her. He didn't know when she had left exactly, so she possibly was home already, but he had a nagging feeling that this wasn't the case.

So here he was, soaring through the air, watching the roads below him, searching for the red hair of his Koneko-chan. Just when he turned to see if she had perhaps arrived home after all, a scream cut the air like a knife.

"KISSHU!"

Kisshu felt like his heart had stopped beating. Ichigo. She was in trouble. She needed him. Now! He didn't waste another second and dove towards where the sound had come from as fast as he could, his mind set on only one thing: 'Ichigo. Protect Ichigo. Ichigo…'

It vaguely occurred to him that he flew above what looked like a labyrinth of alleyways. Then he saw her. In the corner of his eye he spotted red hair shaking in all directions, as if violently resisting. Almost on pure instinct he turned sharply and headed straight towards her… To see some dirty man pulling her clothes trying to get them off.

Kisshu's vision turned red in fury. This was obviously no-one she particularly cared about, so he wouldn't have to hold back. After that thought he barely seemed to think.

He grabbed the lowlife from behind by his collar, pulled him off his Ichigo and threw him into the opposite wall, six metres away. His instincts took over entirely. As the poor bugger got on his feet again, Kisshu snarled at him, ran towards him and punch him square on his nose. It broke with a sickening crunch.

"Ooooi, wha-whadda ya thin' ya doin'?" the man slurred angrily. "I'm gonna make you rue the day you were fuckin' born!" Kisshu growled. With that he kicked the man in his nuts, making the guy double over in pain. The drunk attempted to hit Kisshu, but Kisshu simply grabbed his fist and used it to dislocate the man's arm. Another yelp was heard.

"Mercy, m-mmuuurcy, man!" the man gasped. "NO! You will pay for what you did to her, with your life if you must!" Kisshu roared. He continued to kick and punch the man. He broke some of his ribs, his left shin and his left upper arm. Other ribs were bruised and the bastard's right ankle was twisted in a very unnatural position.

Yet he was not satisfied. So he drew his Dragon Swords… He didn't want to kill in front of Ichigo though, hence he only delivered some minor cuts. First targets however were the bastards vocal cords. He kept on squealing like the pig he was, which might shock or even traumatize Ichigo. And that, of course, had to be prevented.

So after silencing the drunk forever, without doing some damage that would be fatal, Kisshu cut his cheeks, elbows and knees.

Kisshu left him like that, broken on the filthy ground of the alleyway. If he wasn't found before dawn, Kisshu had no doubt that he would die there, but he couldn't care less. He turned towards Ichigo and his repulsed glare turned into a look of gentle worry. She sat there, shaking from head to toe, eyes wide, in a corner of the dead end.

"Shhh, Ichigo, it's alright now, I saved you. Come, I'll bring you home." he held out his hand for her to use as support, but quickly pulled it back. Smudges of dirt and blood covered his hands and the rest of his body. The pig had not gone down without a fight…

Ichigo stared at him with utter fear written over her face, cowering away from him. He desperately tried to get as much off his face and arms as possible, before addressing her again. "Ichigo, it's me, Kisshu, we're friends, remember? Let me bring you home. Your parents are probably worried." Something dawned in her eyes.

"K-Kish?" she whispered. "What did you-? When did you-?" Tears started to form in her eyes. "P-please, just take me h-home!" She held up her arms, trying to reach him. It made her look so pathetic that Kisshu's heart broke at the sight.

He wrapped his, now generally clean, arms around her and she wrapped her arms around his neck. As they took off her hold tightened and she pressed herself closer to him, refusing to open her eyes. How scared she was right now. It pained him so much to look at her. What could he do?

They landed on her doorstep, but she wouldn't let go of him. "K-k-kish?" her voice cracked. "Please wait for me in my room, I don't want to be alone." "Shhh, of course, Koneko-chan, I'll be there."

She smiled sadly at him and let go, looked at her front door and composed herself. Then she put her key in the keyhole, turned the knob and went inside.

Kisshu teleported to his spaceship, pulled off his clothes, threw them in a trashcan, washed himself in ten seconds, dried himself, put a new set of clothes on and teleported into Ichigo's room. 'Forty-seven seconds flat! A new record!' he thought happily. He sat down on her pink bed and waited. Barely three seconds later Ichigo entered the room that was hers, dropping herself on his lap.

"Thank you so much. I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't saved me!" she cried, hugging him close. He was surprised at first, but than held her closer and whispered sweet, comforting words in her ear as she let all her tears out. After about half an hour she stopped.

"I'm sorry for being such a crybaby all time…-" Ichigo began, but Kisshu interrupted. "There's no need for apologies, Koneko-chan. It's perfectly normal for you to react like this. Besides, I don't actually mind holding you." He finished his sentence with a grin, which she answered with a genuine smile.

She started blushing when she realised she had boldly made herself comfy on his lap and swiftly moved to sit next to him. Kisshu made his way to the balcony, though. She followed him a second later.

"Look the moon is visible tonight." she noted. "Yep, I believe you humans call this stage waxing crescent, am I right?" she answered his question with a happy nod. Apparently she didn't think of the incident that happened merely minutes ago. Or she just didn't want to…

After stargazing together for a while, Kisshu stretched. "Well, I think you should get some rest. I'll visit you again tomor-" "Don't go." She looked him intensely in the eye, silently begging him not to leave. "You can have my bed or whatever you need, just don't leave me alone here!" She looked so sad and broken. "Ichigo…" "Please!" "Don't worry, don't worry, I'll stay-" Her whole face lit up again. "-but I refuse to take your bed. It'd be selfish."

Ichigo didn't give up. "But you're a guest! I can't let you sleep on the floor either!" "Then let's share!" Kisshu stated "Wha- Excuse me?" Ichigo looked at him as if he suddenly had caught fire. "There's no other way, since we both know each other well enough to know that this fight would otherwise continue all night."

Ichigo had nothing to answer to that. She looked hopelessly at the bed, as if expecting some support, but when none came, she sighed. "Alright… It wouldn't hurt… You're a friend after all.." This statement saddened Kisshu and to prove the point his ears hung slightly. He composed himself again a split second later, so Ichigo didn't see it.

She left for the bathroom, to shower, to brush her teeth… Let's say, to do whatever it is girls do in the bathroom, before they go to bed. This gave Kisshu about an hour to think everything that had happened over, unaware that Ichigo was doing the exact same thing.

Neither could conclude anything though. It was all going so fast. Was it all even real? Wouldn't they just wake up any moment to find that they had dreamed everything up?

No, they wouldn't. This was beyond their imagination. They were becoming CLOSE! They were friends! No-one would have been able to dream this! Yet…

Kisshu couldn't help but start to wonder if he would be able to watch her live happily with that other guy. To stand at the sideline and just watch it all happen without being able to change anything. He was a selfish being, that never changed nor would it ever change.

He should at least try though. Why not give it a shot? It's not like he had much to loose anyway. All he had at this point that he could loose was her friendship, keeping it and keeping her safe were his main priorities. Even if she would never love him as more than a friend, she would forever remain his one and only love. He would never leave.

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><p>He had returned and comforted, he had offered her friendship, he had saved her and comforted her again. That was all he had done so far. Still, her heart had jumped in her throat and had started beating like mad when he had appeared in the alleyway.<p>

He had been so… so... Beautiful. Like an angel fallen from heaven. She had reached out for him. To touch him, to make sure he was not an illusion her desperate mind had made up. But then his face had anger and hate written all over it and he took apart her attacker, cruelly made him suffer, made him scream for mercy, for the pain to end and eventually he was even begging for death to come, before his vocal chords were destroyed.

Her beautiful angel had turned into an ugly demon and completely destroyed a man. Not that she cared much about him, but still the cruelty of the punishment shocked her. All her instincts told her to run, but she had nowhere to go. The only way out was blocked.

And then he had stared at her, all the hate and anger gone. There was only worry and kindness. He walked towards her to help her up, but his scary appearance made her move away. He had whispered kind words and held out his hand, only to pull it back an instant later, realizing how terrible he looked. He looked sad and concerned, before using his clothes to clean his face and his hands as much as possible.

When he thought he was clean enough, he tried again. Her mind started working again and all to soon she was in his protective warm embrace, flying home and though the shock was wearing off she kept clinging to him, afraid to let him go.

She didn't understand. Even when he simply stood next to her, gazing at the stars, he made her feel all warm and tingling inside, made her tremble slightly, made it impossible for her NOT to stare at him from the corners of her eyes. He even made it impossible to think clearly around him. She had never felt something like this before. It reminded her indistinctly of the tingling feeling in her stomach and the dreamy state of mind she had around Masaya.

But it couldn't be that she actually was fal- NO! She was not falling in love with him, much less loving him! Absolutely not! And even if she were, she had no intention to ruin their new friendship and her relationship with Masaya over some stupid love! But she wasn't in love anyway. She was NOT loving him! Argh! Why did her mind have to ruin everything?

She dried herself and her hair rather harshly, before putting her PJ's on and brushing her teeth. After combing her hair a bit and bidding her parents goodnight, she returned to her bedroom…

To find Kisshu lying on her bed, already fast asleep. Now that he was not awake to watch her, she could freely stare at him, taking in every tiny detail. How cute and peaceful his face looked when he was asleep, how soft his skin looked, how well formed his muscles were…. Ack! She was such a perv!

She pulled the covers over him and she just couldn't help herself. She kissed his forehead softly and without a sound, slipped under the covers as well and whispered "Goodnight, Kish." in his ear. She bit back a cry of surprise however, when he suddenly wrapped an arm around her and snuggled closer. She tried to free herself, but soon realized she wouldn't be able to do that without waking him. She didn't want to wake him, now that he looked so peaceful. So she let herself be enveloped by his warmth and his scent. What an indescribable delicious scent! Like fresh grass, woods, the sea and something unknown to Ichigo all combined into one smell!

Unconsciously hugging him closer, she fell into a deep, peaceful slumber and dreamed of beautiful landscapes, flying and a playful pair of golden eyes, a dark brown and an ice blue eye fading into the background, before they completely disappeared…

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><p><strong>A.N. Perhaps the dream is a slight hint towards the pair I ship. (OBVIOUS! XD)<strong>

**Well, that's all I'll say for now.**

**Review or continue!**


	8. We Don't Do Peaceful Mornings

**A.N. ... Because peaceful is not a word fitting Ichigo and Kisshu (especially not when they're together). XD**

**Have fun reading the chapter!**

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><p>Ichigo woke up quite peacefully the next morning. The sunlight shone brightly, the curtains were ajar. The room was completely silent, the only sound Ichigo heard was that of her own breath and the birds outside.<p>

As the light tickled her face, she felt exceptionally warm around her waist and her entire back, too. She hadn't been fully awake yet, but she would be once she, still rather sleep drunk, lifted her covers, to see an arm tightly pressing her against something warm behind her!

She swiftly turned around to see what the source of the warmth was. "Kish!" she swallowed her shout, she didn't want her father to burst into the room!

"Hmmm?" was all the response she got, while Kisshu snuggled closer to bury his nose in her hair. "Whaa-? Never mind! I don't have time for this! I have to go to…" She read the time on her clock: 8.05 a.m.. "No! I'm late!"

She desperately tried to free herself from his grasp, but to no avail. His grip didn't loosen, he wouldn't budge. "Kish! Lemme go!" Ichigo all but whined. "Jeeeez, Koneko-chan, relax. Today's Saturday, silly, now lie down and go to sleep. It was pretty late when I brought you home last night." Kisshu spoke, half asleep.

The night before flooded back to Ichigo, crushing down on her like a waterfall. Masaya had finally approved of her befriending Kisshu, she had gone on her way back home and then… She shivered noticeably.

Kisshu immediately caught up on his mistake and was suddenly very much awake.

"Ichigo, we gazed at the stars for quite a while, didn't we? Remember you told me that story about the constellation Orion? Orion was a human and great hunter and he had a relationship with Artemis, the goddess of the hunt, wilderness, wild animals ect.. But her twin brother, Apollo didn't want them to be together, so he tricked Artemis into shooting Orion. He died and she asked Zeus to place Orion among the constellations and that's why we can see Orion in the sky. Right?"

Ichigo nodded feverishly, glad that he took her thoughts off last night's happenings. She wanted to forget that as soon as possible.

They kept talking like that, about serious subjects and about the weirdest random things, which would usually result in them having a silent laughing fit.

Luck was on their side today: Her parents didn't suspect a thing. Ichigo was very grateful for that, she loved Kisshu's company, his jokes and his comforting warmth. She sure was blessed with a friend like him… Sigh… Friend…

Why did it sound so incredibly wrong to call him 'a friend'? He had returned nearly a week ago and helped her out of a horrifying situation, but instead of feeling like she was exaggerating when calling him a friend, it seemed such an understatement. What was he to her? Oh no, here she went again. 'No! No thinking about love and Kisshu, or the dangerous combination of those two words!'

Ichigo was about to mentally slap herself, when her mother called from downstairs. "Ichigo, dear, it's time for breakfast!" Kisshu finally let her go and she took the opportunity to run to the door. "I'm coming, mom!"

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><p>"Ichigo, dear, it's time for breakfast!"<p>

'Damn it, I've got to let her go now.' Kisshu thought upon hearing the voice of his Kitty Cat's mother. Reluctantly, he let go of her and barely a second later she stood in front of her door, opened it, yelled "I'm coming, mom!" to answer her mother and then turned to him again, flashing him a beautiful, gorgeous, delicious, sweet, lovely smile.

"I'll be back soon, promise." And she was gone. He heard her nearly jump down the stairs.

Apparently, she wanted him to stick around today. He grinned to himself. 'Who am I to not be where she wishes me to be?' Just a moment later, his stomach began growling like a wolf, continuously.

'Getting something to eat should be fine, right?' Kisshu teleported into his spaceship, sensing that it was totally deserted. Where had Pai and Taruto gone off to?

Pai was probably watching some boring plant at the moment, trying to find some similarities between the plant and his beloved green fish-girl. Did Pai actually realise that he thought of nothing but her? Kisshu wouldn't be surprised if he didn't.

As for Taruto, he was probably with his yellow monkey-girl, being hyperactive and childish, while attempting in vain to regain some of his dignity.

This was all absolutely beside the point though. Kisshu quickly got himself some food, downed it in barely three seconds and went back to Ichigo's room.

As he stood there in the middle of the room one thing occurred to him: He hadn't explored this room yet. 'Perhaps, this is the moment for me to discover every shelf, every corner and of course, the closet and it's contents.' Mischief filled his mind faster than one could have suspected. Oh, what would Ichigo think of him if she knew how bad he was going to disrespect her privacy?

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><p>Breakfast with her parents this morning was pretty uneventful. Since she refused to talk after coming home last night, claiming to be tired, she now had to tell them about her 'splendid evening' with Masaya.<p>

She didn't dare to talk about the drunk groping-incident. Her father would go berserk if he heard and go back to the alleys to burn what was left of the man. Also, how would she explain her escape? It wouldn't be very easy to tell your parents that you befriended an alien who used to be obsessively in love with you. Or was he still?

'Oh, come on! Not now!' Ichigo really started to get sick of those damn thoughts.

Soon, breakfast was finished and as she turned away to leave, her father switched on the TV. The local news had just started and Ichigo picked up the words 'alleyway' and 'drunk'. She stared at the television with terror.

He had been found! What if he told them about Kish? She had eyes like sausages when the reporter said that when he was found he had been dead for about an hour already.

"The cause of death is still unclear, but…"

She didn't even hear the rest. The camera had turned to two people who now lifted a body bag in an ambulance, to take it to god knows where. He was dead. It wasn't that she cared so much about him, but she was shocked by the fact that Kisshu had killed. He had murdered a human being!

A murderer. A cold-blooded, heartless, cruel killer. He had never shown remorse for the punishment he had given. Ichigo realised that this was why Masaya wanted her away from him. He was dangerous.

Her anger flared up at the thought of Kisshu ruthlessly killing people. She felt like giving him a piece of her mind. So that's what she was going to do.

She bolted up the stairs, threw her room's door open, went in and pushed it shut harshly. There he sat on his knees, casually looking through her drawers while she came in, but her hostile entrance startled him, so now he looked up at her.

She looked straight back at him, straight in the eyes of a killer. A killer that went through her stuff like it was his own at that! Ow, she wanted to strangle him! She opened her mouth ready to make the foulest, most hurtful comments cross her lips.

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><p>What the fuck was this? He knew she wouldn't be happy to see him take a look at her private things, but this was not just anger. She was furious, yet he didn't know why. What had happened downstairs? He stared at her, confusion clear in his eyes. Then it began.<p>

"YOU!" She looked at him with so much disgust that it hurt. "Are the most despicable creature I ever had the misfortune to come across! Remember that man you took apart yesterday? He's dead! They found him this morning! Don't you feel anything at that? Not even the slightest bit of regret? You bastard-!"

"Ichigo," Kisshu interrupted as calm as he could. "He groped you and tried to rape you, how can I feel regret for an arse like that?"

"He was drunk! People are not themselves when they're drunk! He was a human, Kisshu! One of my people! And you tortured him before leaving him to die out there, cold and alone! How could you?

I-I will never forgive you!"

That last sentence broke him. So much hate, just like before, when all he had done was protect her. Tears started to form in his eyes, but he was unable to look away from her glare.

He felt it again. All his pride and confidence was lost, like only she could make it. How he didn't know, but she was the only one able to strip him completely of his pride, confidence, wits and strength. She once again dropped him in an ocean of confusing despair and he was once again drowning, unable to surface.

He felt their new found friendship fly out the window, just like that. It wasn't even a day old. The tears now started to flow, he was unable to hold them back.

Unable. Unable. Unable. Why did she always make him unable to do anything right?

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><p><strong>A.N. Going on the emotional tour, Kisshu? Let's see how that'll turn out... In the next chapter! =P (I know I have a whacked sense of humour at times.)<strong>

**Review or/and continue!**


	9. Make up, Break Up, Make Up, Date!

**A.N. The storyline is running along fast. A little too fast. I am adding these A.N.'s after writing chapter 24(It's the 8th of December), so I can tell you that somewhere along the line I have attempted to slow it down. Me telling you right now might be confusing, but you'll see if the story slows down or not. =)**

**Have a nice day (and enjoy the chapter)!**

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><p>To say that Ichigo was surprised to see the tears falling from those golden eyes, would be a huge understatement. One moment he seemed more than ready to explain himself, to make her see reason. And then, BAM! Just like that, all his hope, self control, well everything he had actually, disappeared and he turned from that witty, proud boy to a broken man.<p>

There he sat, on his knees, looking up at her, as if searching for even a glimpse of what forgiveness should look like. She felt the sudden fury extinguish slowly. Was this him? Was this a killer? A broken being, silently begging her not to say anymore, for it would kill HIM.

Regardless, he himself took someone's life away. 'But look at him! Isn't he just adorably hopeless there on the floor? The poor thing probably didn't want this to happen either. But he just wanted to protect you and he lost control of his fury.' The voice in her head was there again! Why did her mind want to play tricks on her?

But there was no denying it. Ichigo felt guilty for yelling at him like she did, so she gave in to the urge and dropped on her knees. As her tears started to flow too, she pulled him in a hug. She could feel him shaking in her arms and soon felt his trembling hands on her back.

They sat like that for a minute or two, both guilty and ashamed. Kisshu was the first to recover though. He had stopped trembling and as he pulled away from her carefully, he finally whispered the words she longed to hear: "I… am so sorry…"

Good. That was all she needed to convince herself that he was not ruthless, like Masaya believed him to be. Her Masaya was only human after all. Humans can be mistaken. And obviously aliens could be too, but still. This alien before her seemed able to make up for his all the mistakes he made.

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><p>He wanted to tell her. He wanted to tell her so damn bad! He loved her. He loved her and would never love another like he loved her. With all his heart. With everything he was capable of. But that would mean ending the whole 'Let's be friends'-façade. And he would be back at point zero. He knew that all too well.<p>

"I…" How he was wasting away, yearning to tell her what he couldn't possibly ever tell her. "am so sorry…" He had wormed his way out again, but for how long?

Ichigo looked very happy however. Even though it wasn't exactly what he had wished to say, she lit up like a flame, hugging him tight for a mere second, before moving away rather fast.

"You are forgiven." Ichigo replied softly. Then she noticed the mess he had made. "Kish…" she asked dangerously low. "What did you do while I was away?"

Kisshu smirked. "Do I really have to answer that, Kitty, or can you conclude by yourself that I went through your clothes? Including your underwear and socks, by the way."

Ichigo had to bite all her self control together to refrain from screaming at him, again. "Kisshu, you have seen nothing, understood? This is our secret, no one needs to know, and if you do it again, I'll transform into Mew Ichigo and kick your sorry-arse back to your home-planet, got it?" She whispered through her teeth.

"Got it, Miss with the panda-underwear and ice-cream socks!" He called, while saluting quite seriously.

"Why, you little-" Ichigo was interrupted by the sudden sound of a song erupting from one of the shelves and she jumped up.

Her phone was ringing.

She looked at the screen of the device, her smile widened and she took the call. "Hi Aoyama-kun!"

It was HIM. THAT. Ugh, Kisshu felt the immediate need to leave the room, but his curiosity got the best of him. So he stayed, picking up as much of the conversation as he could, while he watched Ichigo's back, she had turned away from him. What he heard was not much, but enough to understand the essence of the call. This was what he heard:

"No, I'm not busy at all today!" … "Another exhibition on Red Data Animals, with new information?" … "Of course, I will! When?" … "Ok, we meet up at the usual corner?" … "Ok-" …. "What?" … "No, no, I'll take care of it!" … "Sure! No need for that." … "Trust me, I can handle it." … "No, no, I don't doubt that!" … "Can we talk about this later?" … "Alright, see you there! Bye bye!" -

She was going on a date with the fag. But what about the second part? It was rather mysterious, but Kisshu wouldn't be Kisshu if he didn't have a hunch. It was about him. Clearly, Ichigo had gone all secretly when he became the topic, as she knew he was still in the room. It was obvious enough.

Kisshu wanted details though. What did that guy want from him? Probably he wanted to give him one of his kind smiles while subtly trying to tell him to piss off. Too bad for him, Kisshu was not even close to considering leaving. It would take more of the faggot to make him back off.

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><p>How was she supposed to tell him this? 'Dear Kish, I'm going to ask you to leave me alone today, because I want a quiet, peaceful date with my boyfriend in some dusty exhibition hall.'? Yeah, like hell that would work.<p>

She didn't want him to come for a whole other reason than the reasons of her love though. She still had to ask her recently reacquired boyfriend some questions about their break-up. Most importantly, of course, 'Why?'. Why break up, only to make up a few days later? Didn't he have a new love? What about her? Where did she go?

It was bothering Ichigo and she wanted to find out. Kish couldn't be there. He would hear what happened just before the break up, when they broke up and why they made up again. It was all very personal information that he didn't need to know.

Nor did he want to know, because no matter what he said or did, she knew he would always hate Masaya. Neither could stand the other, even now. It was in the air of one of them when the other was even mentioned. There would be a great grave tension in the room and there words would be filled with disgust and venom. Even Masaya, who was usually kind and nice about and towards anyone, couldn't rid his voice completely of the resentment he felt when he talked about Kish.

So, Kish would definitely NOT be amused to hear all of the story. But how could she keep him away?

Sighing, she decided to give just asking a shot.

"Say, Kish. That was my boyfriend on the phone…" She began carefully. "I realised." He replied shortly. "I thought so…" She licked her lips nervously. "And I wonder… Would you mind.. Not.. Spying on us? I mean, you see… There are some things I want to ask him, pretty important and… I would appreciate it if you… You know… Would not be there to overhear everything.."

"I thought so." He muttered darkly. "You thought what?" Ichigo asked heatedly. "He asked you to tell me to bugger off, didn't he?" Ichigo started to feel annoyed. "I won't deny it! But, as your friend, I ask of you to stay away, too! Not only for our sakes, but also for your own!"

"Ah, so it's 'us' now, isn't it? You teamed up with him? I see. Well, don't worry, I'll stay away. Those so-called dates are boring anyway.." He huffed. Ichigo felt very offended and ready to blow. "I didn't 'team up' with him! I just don't want you there! And don't you dare to judge my dates! They're spectacular!"

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><p>"And don't you dare to judge my dates! They're spectacular!"<p>

"You don't even believe that yourself! Your face betrays you, Koneko-chan! You don't seem very excited to spend your whole afternoon in some giant, boring, uneventful hall with your boyfriend!" Kisshu half-exclaimed, knowing that they had to keep their volume down. Ichigo's mom left a while ago to do some shopping's, but her dad was still downstairs, watching TV.

Kisshu didn't know much about his Kitty's dad, except for three things: 1. He was very protective of his daughter, 2. He didn't like the tree-hugger, 3. The man had a HUGE temper, worse than his daughter's.

So, even though making his point by raising his volume, he did his best to do it as 'silent' as possible. Ichigo seemed to understand. And because of his earlier statement, she was totally flushed. That was one point for Kisshu.

"It doesn't matter where we are, as long as we're together…" She mumbled. Kisshu grinned. She knew he was right, she knew it! But she wanted to deny it so bad, it was cute to watch.

He sighed as though in defeat. Even if she knew, she would never leave her beloved Aoyama-kun. He mattered too much to her. So he had to be content with just one point today.

"Sigh, alright, Koneko-chan, I won't spy on your entire date with that guy. Just, please, don't do anything you don't want to do, like going to a boring exhibition, I know some of those Red Data Animals undoubtedly interest you, but don't let him drag you of to the really somnolent section. I don't want to see you leave that building in a body bag." He ended his 'promise' with a joke.

She wouldn't realise what he had said entirely, so he would have barely a promise to break. He wasn't going to spy on their ENTIRE date, just the important part.

Ichigo unknowingly consented and then left him to tell her dad about the date that she had in a few hours, before skipping happily into the bathroom to ready herself.

Kisshu wasn't quite sure about how this afternoon was going to turn out. He had a strange feeling about this.

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><p><strong>A.N. And why would that be? Suspicious, huh?<strong>

**Anyway, Review or/and continue!**


	10. Disaster Date!

**A.N. Aoyama and Ichigo are suddenly going on a date and Kisshu distrusts it a bit. Just what will happen?**

**Let's start reading, shall we? (Enjoy!)**

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><p>The date began pretty normal. They met at the regular place and had the regular talk. Masaya couldn't hide it though. She knew he still didn't trust Kish one bit and he wanted him to be gone. He had to accept him however, since she was not giving her friendship with the green-haired alien.<p>

He was her boyfriend again, yet he seemed farther away than ever. Only a moment Ichigo played with the thought of sending Kish back to his home, to please Masaya, however this thought was quickly dismissed. No. He wasn't their enemy anymore. Yes, he had killed a man, but it hadn't been his intention. It had been an accident.

She had forgiven him, for he didn't mean to kill. She clung to that idea. But she had moments that she doubted him and though she kept reprimanding herself, telling herself that she shouldn't, she still did. Her mind and her heart were in war.

Her mind kept replaying everything she had seen that night and one thing she certainly had seen was the killing intent in his eyes. He loathed the man for what he had done and had wanted to make him pay for it, she couldn't deny those facts; it was all obvious.

At the same time, her heart refused to believe it. Kisshu, her Kish, had deep down not meant to kill, if he had, he would have killed the man on the spot. She wasn't sure if he hadn't realised it, or if he had done it for her sake, but he had been merciful. He had not yet sealed the fate of the drunk, although he probably would have wanted to.

But that made no sense! She was trying to cover up his cruelties, his ruthlessness, everything. Yet, her heart was a strong one and simply didn't listen to her mind. So she settled on keeping a close eye on him for a while, just to be sure.

The couple was walking down the street, on their way to the exhibition hall. It was quite close to Masaya's home, the walk would take about half an hour, so it wasn't that bad. Ichigo prayed Masaya hadn't heard of the alleyway murder, that he wouldn't mention last night at all. As if on cue Masaya started talking.

"Hey Ichigo, have you heard? I watched the news this morning…" 'Oh, please, no!' Ichigo screamed in her mind. ".. Someone was murdered in an alleyway in our neighbourhood! Who would do something sick like murdering an innocent man? Say, Ichigo, you haven't by any chance seen anything, have you?"

His soft brown eyes gazed in hers intently, awaiting the answer patiently. Ichigo felt like she could mentally shut down right there. 'I can't tell him about Kish! He'll twist any involvement of Kish into Kish killing a human. I have to lie!' Ichigo thought, maintaining the poker face towards Masaya, while she was freaking out in her mind.

Wait a second! When did she start putting up poker faces? Didn't Masaya see right through them? Wasn't he supposed to? 'Spare those thoughts for later!'

"No, I went.. Straight home and saw abs-solutely nothing out of place." She kept her voice even and barely stuttered or hesitated. But girlfriends aren't supposed to be able to lie to their boyfriends, are they? What was wrong with her? How did she do it? Why had the butterflies she used to feel around Masaya slowed down and had begun to gradually disappear? Was she falling out of love?

Those ideas were swiftly banished to the dark corners in her mind. NO! She loved Masaya whole-heartedly and would die rather than leaving him and everyone and everything knew that.

She was not going to throw her dream, her paradise away. She was going on a date with the perfect boy now and, darn it she was going to enjoy herself to death! With renewed energy, Ichigo marched towards the exhibition hall, an amused Masaya silently following her.

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><p>Enjoying herself to death? Dying of boredom was more likely! Ichigo yawned for the eighth time already. 'I probably have been walking around for about an hour' she tiredly thought. As she looked at her watch however, she was surprised to find that she had entered the hall about only fifteen minutes ago! 'WHAT? This thing must be broken! This has to be a joke!' Ichigo felt like crying for a moment, but pulled herself together a second later. She would find a bench and wait, since Masaya was absorbed in some discussion with another visitor.<p>

Sigh. This was one of the rare times she wished Kish would just make an entrance and save her from the plain boredom she felt washing over her. But she had forbidden him to come, so he wouldn't, would he? She would try to contact him this afternoon.

What would he be doing right now anyway? The most probable answer was that he was flying around somewhere, also being very bored. 'Yes, that sounds like something Kish would do in his spare time.' Ichigo giggled inwardly, while outwardly a smile lit up her face.

After she imagined Kish above a pond, entertaining himself by throwing pebbles in it, watching as they rippled the surface, she got up again. This wasn't such a bad place to get stuck in right? There were still many displays to watch, so there was enough to keep herself busy with for the oncoming hour, hours, as long as her boyfriend was still… Doing his thing.

Ichigo decided to play a little game on her own. How long would it take her to find all the animals that the Mews were infused with? Looking at the big clock on the wall on her right (she, after all, didn't trust her watch anymore), she readied herself for a sprint towards the gallery ahead of her.

As the clock struck exactly 15.13 p.m. she took off, running around, searching for only five animals. The Golden Lion Tamarin was easily found in the monkey's department. The Grey Wolf was also a cup of tea, but against all expectations the Ultramarine Lorikeet was pretty hard. Apparently lots of blue birds were nearly extinct.

Once Ichigo found the fish department, the Finless Porpoise was surprisingly easy to find just like the Golden Lion Tamarin and Grey Wolf. Now, the only one left still, was the Iriomote Cat. Oh, the irony. Ichigo nearly laughed out loud.

She kept going and going, searching and searching, but it seemed all in vain. It was like the cat had disappeared altogether.

While Ichigo wandered around the building for what felt like the umpteenth time, she ran into someone she should have somehow expected to meet: Midorikawa Retasu, aka Mew Lettuce. The girl greeted her timidly, like always, and they chitchatted for a while.

"So, Ichigo-san, I suppose Aoyama-san is somewhere around here too?" Retasu asked, scanning the room with her eyes, probably expecting to find the boy somewhere near them. Ichigo awkwardly scratched her head. "Ah, well, you see, he got into a pretty heated discussion with another visitor, I believe it to be about how to save a certain animal from extinction."

"You went off on your own, then?" Retatsu asked, her eyes still not meeting Ichigo's, but going over the room over and over again. "Yes, indeed… Say, Retasu, did you come here with someone else too?" Ichigo asked. 'It might explain why she's searching the room, did she loose her friend somewhere in the hall?' "What? N-no! We, he, I-I came here on my own account. No-one's with me!" This reply was apparently dedicated to the floor, as Retasu stared at it all the time, her head red as a tomato and an embarrassed hand covering her mouth, when she finished.

Ichigo grinned at the sight of her friend, who was now desperately trying to find words to say. "It's a date, then?" Retasu's face turned even redder than it already was and she violently shook her head 'no', making her braids fly around. "It's just… a l-little research w-w-we are working on." She admitted shyly, still not facing her friend.

Ichigo's grin never weakened. 'How cute! She's on a date, too! I hope she dates a boy as gentle and calm as she is, they're probably unbelievably adorable together. She deserves it so much.'

"A-anyway, excuse me, Ichigo-san, but I must be going, he's presumably looking for me." Retasu wanted to find whoever the guy was, rather badly, that much was obvious to Ichigo. She had to ask though.

"That's alright, but I've one question: Do you know where I can find information about the Iriomote Cat?" Retasu smiled softly. "Take the gallery at your right and go right at second corridor you come across. It should be around there." "Thank you very much, Retasu! See you in two days at work!" "You're welcome, goodbye, Ichigo-san!"

The two parted after those words. Ichigo took the direction that Retasu had told her to take, which would bring her to the Iriomote Cat, and Retasu…

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><p>Retasu went straight ahead, her head held a lot higher than it used to nearly two years ago.<p>

Nobody knew where she was going, but she went straight for the roof. She had gathered a lot of information that was possibly still unknown to him. How glad he would be if she brought him all the notes she had taken and if she told him all the rest.

He would have gone to see it all himself, if it were not for the fact that the exhibition would be cleaned up and guarded by lots of people after the visitors left. He could not afford the risk of any human seeing him. It would bring lots of unwanted trouble. So, he asked her to go and to tell him everything about it afterwards.

She was very glad that he had. Over the past week he had visited her frequently and every time she saw him again, she felt like the whole world brightened up. She would feel stupid and stutter too, but she was so.. So happy when he was around. Retasu Midorikawa was no fool. She read enough books to know precisely what caused it. Love. She loved him.

But she could never decipher whether he returned those feelings or not. He visited her though. That should be good enough.

She finally reached the roof. She stood there one second, breathing in the fresh air, before she felt a presence behind her. She turned around and her eyes immediately softened.

"Hello, Pai-san. I brought the notes you asked for."

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><p>Ichigo, of course, had not the slightest idea as to where her friend headed to. She just went her own way, the way to the Iriomote Cat-display. Suddenly, out of nowhere, she heard a very high tone and though she could hear it, it didn't bother her. Must be the electronics or something.<p>

"Ichigo! You should see this!"

At that moment Ichigo turned into the corridor she was supposed to take and nearly ran into Masaya, who stood only three metres away from the corner and he was looking at… The Iriomote Cat-display! At last! Ichigo looked for a clock, but found none. Buggers! Now her game was ruined!

She joined Masaya and started reading the display, when the tone that had started before, turned into such a high pitch even she could barely hear it. The glass of the display started to crack and Masaya barely had time enough to yell "Ichigo, to the ground!" and pull her to ground with him. Only a nanosecond after she hit the floor, everything made of glass around them burst into pieces.

By the sound of it, everywhere in the whole exhibition hall, the same thing had happened. Visitors screamed, yelled and cried out as some of them were cut by the sharp bits and pieces of glass. It was utter chaos and Ichigo could only think of one person to blame.

'KISSHU!'

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><p><strong>A.N. What did Kisshu do? Continue reading and find out!<strong>

**Review or/and continue!**


	11. When the Lights Go Out

**A.N. What has Kisshu done? That's the question I left last chapter.**

**It's about to get answered.**

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><p>Ha! He had known it all along! Pai and the fish girl, no matter how harshly Pai had told him there was nothing between them, were now definitely on a date! What else could you call it?<p>

Kisshu had known Pai for almost his entire life and never had Pai approached someone so often without being ordered to. 'To gain information that is still unknown to us about Earth.' was the lame excuse Kisshu got from the purple-haired alien.

'Yeah right, like he wouldn't have been able to find the answers to all his questions in three seconds with his machines.' Kisshu thought to himself, being rather amused. He wasn't that good with computers and stuff like that, but he knew that those things could tell you nearly everything you wanted to know with one push on a button.

But he wasn't going to give the subject anymore attention. He merely checked up on his friends to kill some time after Ichigo left. He wasn't going to watch the entire date, after all. Ichigo had forbidden him to.

So, he had gone to the spaceship, he and his buddies used. When he arrived, both Pai and Taruto were present, which on it's own was a miracle. They all had certain girls to attend to, didn't they? Apparently all the girls couldn't use an alien boy at the moment.

Taruto was all the way up on cloud nine, it seemed. He and his hyperactive monkey-mew had as much fun together as ever. And a fair share of playful fights should not be failed to mention. Yet the blond girl had to work to, since she still had a family to support. Her brothers and sister were still kids, too, and needed their attention.

Pai wasn't very talkative, but then again, was he ever? He admitted that he had paid his Midorikawa-san visits every day this past week and that she was 'good company', though he refused to say or hear more about the matter. Not that Taruto was paying much attention to begin with.

Kisshu would always deny it, but secretly he was glad that his friends were happy. Their business also were an advantage to him, because it meant that they would stay on Earth longer than was originally planned. Maybe they would even settle here.

That way, Kisshu would not be alone, for he had planned to remain on Earth all along. Unless, of course, Ichigo would go with him to his planet. The chance that that would ever happen was 0.0001% or something, now that she had a boyfriend. In other words, Kisshu would stay on Earth.

Anyway, after having dozed off for a moment or two, because Pai and Taruto had entered a discussion (something about Taruto meeting the monkey mew-siblings), Kisshu had decided that he had been waiting long enough. He could go and watch the date now, without breaking the promise he made. She had left her house about one and a half or two hours ago, that must have been enough time, right?

He had gone to tell his friends that he was going to leave. Naturally they had inquired where to and when he had answered that he would go to the exhibition about Red Data Animals, Pai took him by surprise by saying that he also had some appointment there and therefore would join him.

That's how Kisshu found out that Pai had a 'date' with Mew Lettuce.

'This is all rather interesting and I could stay here a little longer, listening to nerds discussing shit I most likely don't need nor want to know and afterwards get scolded by Pai for spying on him. Nah, I think I'd better start looking for Ichigo.' Kisshu figured and so he teleported into the exhibition hall.

It was pretty large, if he floated just an inch under the ceiling, nobody would notice him, unless they looked up, but with all the pictures and displays around the visitors, it was unlikely that someone would care to look above them.

All the galleries were like a huge labyrinth beneath him, as the walls didn't all reach the ceiling. Only the four walls that kept the building up, reached it. Kisshu flew around unbothered, until he heard some high tone. When it didn't stop, it started to annoy him. 'What is this, are they having problems with the electronics or something?' Kisshu wondered.

"Ichigo! You should see this!" Kisshu's ears twitched at the sound of his all time favourite kitty and he turned his head to the right where the sound came from. He flew towards it and just when a head of red entered his view, the annoying tone pitched higher than it already was.

Kisshu could hear the glass displays, lamps and whatever other things made of glass that were in the hall, crack. 'No good.' What he dreaded happened an instant later. All the displays burst into pieces, making bits of glass fly around everywhere.

Astonished, scared, pained and panicked cries were heard everywhere. Kisshu was engulfed by the sound, even more when the lamps, which had also been broken, all turned dark at once, leaving the humans, who were all possibly hurt by the sound of it, momentarily blind. This didn't really help the already panicking creatures.

Screams, yells, stomping feet, they were all so loud Kisshu could barely concentrate on his goal: Finding Ichigo. His eyes almost immediately adjusted to the dark, but by being distracted by all the sound, he lost sight of her.

Now it was his turn to start panicking. Where was she? Where was Ichigo? Where? Where? WHERE?

"Mew Mew Strawberry, Metamorphósis!" 'Thank goodness! Wait. What?' Kisshu's short lived relief was quickly replaced by confusion. Why did she transform? Shouldn't she just get out of there?

The walls started to tremble down there. 'What the hell is going on?' Kisshu hated this feeling. The nervousness. Something was going terribly wrong and he didn't know a thing. It was almost like he went a few years back in time.

The whole building looked like it was rumbling on its fundaments and the inevitable happened, walls began to fall! More screams, shrieks and shouts erupted everywhere around him, Kisshu's head felt like it was about to burst. But he had no time for that crap! Ichigo had to be somewhere still. And with broken glass all over the place and walls falling down in every direction, being here was suicide.

Yet, it didn't look like the crowd grew smaller at all. Kisshu soon figured out why: There were only two exits, in the north and the south wall and the south wall's exit was blocked by a pile of parts of a broken wall. Leaving only one exit. Some people didn't know and went the opposite direction, where others who had actually reach the door, couldn't get out because people kept pushing others away, because of the adrenaline and sheer panic that ran through all of them.

'Stupid fools.' Kisshu thought by himself angrily. 'Selfish, arrogant, idi-' Kisshu woke up from his thoughts and started moving again. 'What am I doing wasting time like this? Find Ichigo, I have to find Ichigo! Now! Immediately! Quickly! … Come on! Ichigo! Where are you? For heaven's sake, where the hell are you?'

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><p>Kisshu. Where was that jerk with his Chimera Animal? As the lights went out, Ichigo and Masaya knew exactly what was going on. Kisshu. He was once again ruining their date.<p>

Once Ichigo told Masaya about her suspicions, he instantly agreed, saying he suspected the same and suggesting that they should find Kisshu and his Animal rapidly, before they could hurt anybody further. And so, they ran around the building, transformed and ready for a confrontation.

'Why, Kish?' Ichigo thought sadly. 'We had such a good time, we're friends. Why are you doing this?' She felt immensely let down and stupid. How could she have believed he wanted to be 'just friends'. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Of course, he just wanted her trust, so he could back-stab her in the end. How could she have believed anything else? Masaya had warned her too.

She never had the opportunity to tell the Mews, but they definitely would have told her she was playing with fire, like Masaya had. How could she ever have doubted her boyfriend to this extent. Stupid, stupid, stupid!

Masaya, or the Blue Knight, since he had transformed, noticed her sadness and took her hand, offering her a gentle smile, that told her 'It'll be okay.'. This gave her some reassurance. She had the most amazing boyfriend ever and no-one would ever take him away from her.

He gave her power. Power to protect herself. Power to protect her friends. Power to protect the Earth. With him by her side she had the power to do anything. And yes, that included kicking some alien-butt! That arse was about to rue the day that he was born! 'For the future of Earth, I'll be at your service!'

After about ten minutes of running around, evading walls breaking down and screaming people, the Blue Knight suddenly came to a halt. Ichigo stopped too and turned around, about to ask what the matter was, when she saw his eyes. They were wide with horror. She followed his gaze and understood why. Right there under a pile of stones, concrete and glass, lay a girl, probably about Ichigo's own age, motionlessly. She had seen the girl before, at school, in the hallways.

"Yukka?"

The Blue Knight moved to the side of the girl to feel her pulse. Was she important to him? A close friend or something? He had never spoken of a girl named Yukka.

He looked up, his eyes shining with unshed tears. This startled Ichigo badly, but she nearly had a heart attack, when he began to throw everything off the clearly deceased girl. He looked so sad, desperate and… Absolutely furious.

Once he finally freed her, he took hold of the body and held it close, meanwhile trembling heavily, but not shedding a tear. Ichigo moved to his side quietly, standing just behind him, with all the bits of glass, concrete and stones surrounding them, laying a supportive hand on his shaking shoulder.

"Was she a dear friend of yours?" Ichigo whispered apprehensively. The Blue Knight shook his head 'no' violently. "She was the girl that I broke up with you for…" He breathed almost soundlessly. Ichigo was absolutely shocked. "Fuyou Yukka, her name was, Fuyou Yukka…" He whispered nearly inaudibly.

"I'm so terribly sorry…" Ichigo felt the tears stream down her face now. This was so cruel. An innocent girl killed by some arrogant bastard of an alien. While Ichigo cried for this girl and all the others who died in that place or had yet to die there, she didn't notice that that wasn't the only thing that made her heart hurt so bad. Her heart still didn't want to believe it, refused to listen to what her mind was telling it.

Kisshu. Kish. He couldn't have done this. No way. They were friends. He had been nothing but kind and friendly when he was around her.

At the moment she was crying her eyes out, holding the Blue Knight close. So absorbed in crying and comforting her boyfriend, she didn't know of the battle that once again flared up inside her.

'It was all a lie, a play, a game. He never meant to be friends, he played us like a game, for his own good.' her mind snarled. 'Nonsense' her heart cried. 'There must be another explanation, there is no way that he could have done this. He would never…'

'Why do you trust him so much? He lied, lied, lied! Like he always has! We should hate him, kill him! There's no reason not to suspect him! Look at how he hurt us, used us' her mind growled back in reply. 'I won't! I can't! We never could truly hate him and we will never be able to, you know that! He never did what you accuse him of! I'm sure! We should hear him out-!'

'No! We've heard and seen enough!' Mind interrupted. 'Don't trust him. He killed people. Our people! Look at that girl, what he's done to her!'

'Stop! He didn't kill, no, he didn't. There's no actual proof-!' 'Are those bodies not proof enough?' '- Besides we love hi-' 'WE DON'T! We love Masaya, he's our one and only! Do you doubt yourself? Do you doubt the man your destined to belong to? Are you losing it?' 'He is not-' 'He IS! Now, we look at him and tell him we love him.'

This war is far from over.

Ichigo looked up at the Blue Knight, her Knight. "I love you. So much." She felt the words slip from her mouth, without knowing where they came from and surprised both him and herself by leaning in and kissing him on his cold cheek.

"Ichigo…" he sighed silently.

"Finally, there are you! I've been looking for you for ages!"

There he was, the cause of all the trouble, looking RELIEVED at the sight of her. Ow, he didn't know what kind of Hell he was subjecting himself to.

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><p><strong>A.N. Just a misunderstanding perhaps? Or is there foul play in the game? Who knows? Oh yeah, I do! XD (No sense of humour, I know alright.)<strong>

**Review or/and continue!**


	12. Get out Alive

**A.N. _Somebody_ got Ichigo pissed.**

**Not the best move on Earth, as you'll see.**

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><p>Anger. Fury. Rage. Ichigo felt like she could explode. That doomed little alien-rat had the guts to kill again, this time his poor victim was even an innocent girl! To add to that, he managed to be insolent enough to show up at the crime scene, while there were people grieving! That little annoying jerk! How dare he? Masaya was feeling terrible and he just came sweeping in, entirely ruining the moment and insensitive enough to than claim to have been searching for them!<p>

What did he mean with that anyway? Searching for them? Probably to try once again to kill them. Well, she was not stupid. No, this Mew would kick some alien-ass today. For all the victims, for Masaya and for ruining her date! He had tried her patience long enough. She would accept it no longer.

It was time that he went back to where he belonged: His own planet. Far, far away from her and her boyfriend, so she could live the 'happily ever after' she had been wishing for, for so long.

Ichigo was getting more pissed off and more determined with every passing thought. It was visible on her features too, as they grew darker and darker.

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><p>This, of course, didn't go unnoticed by Kisshu, who in turn grew more confused and nervous as a minute went by.<p>

Not only Ichigo, but also the scene in front of him worried him endlessly. When he arrived, both the back of his love and his love's boyfriend where turned on him. After noting this, he realized what they were doing and it made him feel the sudden need to throw up. She kissed tree-hugger on the cheek! It was utterly disgusting to watch! Next thing he knew, he was making sure they were aware of his presence.

That's when they both turned around and Kisshu saw what Mr. Perfect was holding in his arms. Sure, he had seen the guy had been holding something big the whole time but… His stomach dropped. It was a girl. A human girl. An obviously DEAD human girl. And considering Ichigo's face it was quite clear who they blamed. Him. Again. Damn it! Why was he always the guilty one?

'Because I used to try to take over Earth and exterminate humankind, duh.' Kisshu vaguely wondered why he even bothered to think up and answer such lame questions, when an all too familiar declaration was shouted into the, at first, silent air.

"This is unforgivable!"

Darn it, she hit straight home, as always. How was he going to make her see reason this time?

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><p>"This is unforgivable!"<p>

He flinched slightly. Ha! But he wouldn't get away with just some words of justice! She moved away from her dear Masaya, giving him a look that hopefully said 'Stand back. I'll handle this one.' He nodded and stepped back. Good, he got the message.

She summoned her Strawberry Bell out of thin air, like she always used to do. She aimed, something she had learned to do more swiftly as the number of battles had increased. Then she yelled the usual attack: Strawberry Check, completely ignoring Kisshu's yell "Ichigo, wait! I don't want to fight!" 'It's too late for that.' Ichigo thought bitterly, as she fired her, to the alien dangerous, attack.

He managed to escape it though. "Ugh!" Or not… Ichigo looked closely at him, searching for wounds. She had hit his left foot, shin and knee. He was holding his leg in pain for a second or two, then the pain seemed bearable enough to speak, without too obvious agony in his voice, because he spoke in only a sad tone.

"Ichigo, I know what it possibly looks like to you, but I had nothing to do with any of this!"

"Then why are you here, you filthy-" "I came to check up on you, OK?" "Lies! You probably don't give a cat's ass about me. It's all an act to get close to me, kill me and then conquer the world!" Ichigo screamed in return. Not this again. For some weird reason it hurt so much right know to know that he was lying.

"I died for you a year ago! For Kami's sake, Ichigo! I love you! I have since ages ago and I will keep on doing so until I die for real! How many times do I have to spell it out? I love you! I love you, I love you, I love you! I want to be with you every day, but since you have a boyfriend, I figured I could be your friend! Why would I throw that all away by going on a random killing spree, huh?"

As Kisshu blurted out this sudden, uncalled for confession, Ichigo's eyes widened. 'Still… Still he claims to love me… For longer than a year he has been… NO! It's a lie! All a lie! Snap out of it!' At the time, Ichigo felt so stupid, confused and just… Weird.

Kisshu looked pretty shocked himself. He clearly hadn't meant to say what he had said. Was she supposed to not have known? Ichigo could slap herself across the face now, for thinking about it like that. 'Who cares? Right now, I want him the hell out of here! I'm done with the lies and excuses. I want him gone! Away from me, out of my life, just gone! He should just…'

"Get out."

As the two, simple words left her mouth, she surprised herself with the coldness they contained. Kisshu looked dumbstruck, like she just hit him across the face, out of blue. He just floated there in the air, by the looks of it, unable to process the harsh command she just gave him.

"Do I need to repeat myself?" Her voice was more venomous than it ever had been, up until then. Neither Kisshu, Masaya nor herself had ever heard her speak in such a way. Also, it was strangely calm, only adding to Kisshu's obvious dread. He tried to protest, he simply seemed to refuse to believe that she really wanted him to leave her the hell alone.

"But-"

"No buts! Just. Go. Away. I don't want to see your face ever again, you understand me? NEVER!"

He was so taken aback that he moved back a metre or two. For a moment, she thought he was going to cry and she felt a pang of guilt, although she quickly dismissed it.

Kisshu pulled himself together though and looked her straight into the eye, the defiance and determination shining in his golden eyes.

"If that's what you really want. I'll let you be for now, but know, Koneko-chan, that I'll return someday. It's obvious I've been set up. I will find out who did it and clear my name. I promise you that I will return to you once I can proof that I'm innocent of all that you have accused me of. Until then, Ichigo."

With that said, he disappeared.

'What was that?' Ichigo wondered. 'He wants to prove his innocence? He says he's set up? Than is he really not a murderer?' She turned to Masaya/Blue Knight. 'I'll think about that later, right now, Masaya needs me.'

She stepped closer to him, looking at the girl in his arms sadly. "We should get her outside…" Ichigo whispered softly. Masaya only nodded, turned around and began walking down the corridor, Ichigo following him on his heels.

They noticed that while they had been busy with Kisshu and the girl, Yukka, the exhibition visitors had all left the building. Also, they found no more bodies, making the both of them feel a little relieved as well, beside grieving and furious.

It took them half an hour to find the exit, however neither had spoken a word since they started searching the door that would get them out of this dark labyrinth that had been a pretty exhibition hall not to long ago.

Finally after who knows how long, they stepped into the light of the, by this time setting, sun. It was like they stepped out of an endless, hot desert into an endless, cold blizzard. There were police cars and ambulances everywhere. People were screaming and crying, sitting on the pavement, on the street, everywhere, waiting for the medical attention that they needed.

By the looks of it, a lot of them had glass wounds or had been hit by something extremely heavy and hard. The displays which had shattered and the walls which had collapsed most probably were the cause of all that.

Ichigo and Masaya had transformed back into their human selves before leaving the building, since going out there transformed would turn all the attention on them. Masaya made his way to an ambulance to let them take Yukka. Before he left her, he had told Ichigo that she should go home, since it would take extremely long to make sure Yukka was going to be taken good care of and to explain to the police where he found her, how he was related to her, ect.

'Did the Mews come to help out here, by any chance, or did Ryou think their help was not necessary since Masaya and I were on the scene? He should've sent them, because it was an alien attack… right?' And then Ichigo realised something: Retasu had been in there, too!

Ichigo began panicking like crazy, searching the crowd of wounded people for a familiar head of green. Her search was in vain though. There was no green to be seen among all the brown, black and a few blond heads.

Ichigo slowed down and tried to think clearly. She had her phone number! Of course, how could she be so dense? She immediately dialled the phone number and waited nervously.

'Retasu, please, answer the call!'

"Hello, Midorikawa Retasu speaking." a calm, timid voice came through Ichigo's phone's speakers. "Retasu! This is Ichigo! Are you OK?" "Yes, I am. Why do you ask?" Retasu sounded rather confused. "Why? WHY? The whole exhibition became a chaos about an hour ago! You were there right?" Ichigo was rather surprised that her friend was apparently completely unaware of the big commotion at the exhibition hall. She had seen her there not more than five minutes before everything broke down!

"Uh, I, I…" "Midorikawa-san, what's the matter?" Another voice was heard on the other side of the line. It was calm and monotone, though a slight hint of worry was inescapable present as well.

"Pai-san, Ichigo-san says something happened at the exhibition!" 'P-Pai?' "Retasu, you're on a date with Pai?"

"…"

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><p>"…"<p>

At Retasu side of the line it was awkwardly silent. Retasu herself didn't dare to look at Pai, for she was so embarrassed that she had turned as red as a tomato. Pai himself also said nothing, fearing that his voice might give away all the emotions that ran through him at high speed.

After making sure that he regained complete control over his emotions he gently took the calling device from Retasu and began to ask the pink Mew leader questions about the situation. "Mew Ichigo…" he started. "Yes, Pai?" "What actually happened?" "Kisshu, that's what happened! That jerk showed up and used a Chimera Animal to make the glass explode and the walls fall apart!"

"I find this highly unlikely. Did you find the Chimera Animal?" "Well… No, he probably destroyed it already, to hide the evidence, since he claims to be innocent." "You did find Kisshu. He claimed to be ignorant of the entire event." "Yes." "…" "Uhm.. Pai?" "Yes?" "Could you hand Retasu the phone, please?" "Of course." Pai handed Retasu the phone, before taking off to the place he liked most (until the green Mew came along, that is..): The black abyss of his mind.

Pai ran over the situation again and again, searching for both a plausible explanation that Ichigo failed to give and a clue as to where Kisshu might have gone off to. He knew that emotional teen too well to doubt that the guy was at the moment either planning something or sulking in a corner.

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><p>Meanwhile, Ichigo had totally got over the shock of Retasu not being aware of the exhibition-attack and was now shamelessly interrogating Retasu. The Mew Leader wanted to know everything about the relationship between the green Mew and the purple-haired alien. Things like 'How long?' 'What do you do together?' ect. were, obviously, inevitable.<p>

Retasu however refused to provide any information, to Ichigo's annoyance. In the end, all she got out of the stuttering, blushing, embarrassed girl was that she received frequent visits from the supposed to be stone-hearted alien for about a week and they mostly did experiments, research and inquired about each others lives 'in order to understand one another and to distinguish the differences'. Naturally, Ichigo didn't buy the last part.

But, well, that's all she had to satisfy herself with. Retasu managed to change the subject by asking questions about Masaya's health. Ichigo was more than willing to talk about her precious Masaya and the pain he probably was enduring at that moment.

Being the girl she was, she told Retasu everything that had happened since they encountered each other in the hall, how she found Masaya and the Iriomote Cat, how the glass shattered, how the chaos commenced, the walls fell, she and Masaya searched for the Chimera Animal, found the girl, how had Kisshu shown up and how she and Masaya had found the exit.

When she was finally done, Retasu said that she would inform Ryou, Keiichiro and the other Mews and advised Ichigo to go home and rest, since Retasu realised, as the considerate girl she was, that the whole event must have worn her friend out. Ichigo thankfully agreed, bid her friend goodbye and went home.

Alas, she didn't get the peace and quiet she longed for, before her father had lectured her for not contacting him immediately and so on. This was one of the few times her mother felt the same way as her husband. They really had been worried, the news had spread like a fire and when they tried to call her, she didn't take the call.

She had a good excuse, she had been occupied, but she couldn't tell her parents that, so she had to sit through the whole monologue and dinner was served right after, thus she had to postpone her nap.

Looking back, Ichigo actually was glad she had had too, for she turned out to be more tired than she thought: When she finally DID go to bed, she slept as soon as her head touched her pillow and she woke up again at 10 a.m. the next morning.

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><p><strong>A.N. Heavy shit's gone down, don't you agree? How is Kisshu going to get himself out of this mess?<strong>

**Review and/or continue!**


	13. Ordinary Monday

**A.N. Disclaimer: I don't own Tokyo Mew Mew...**

**Hello fanfiction-reader!**

**Let me spare you, my endless chatter of gratitude, it'll be at the bottom! =P**

**For now, enjoy chapter 13 of _Coming down to Earth _named Ordinary Monday!**

_**Edit on December 8th: I just added A.N.'s to the earlier chapters, but this one is older (I know, confusing huh...)**_

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><p>The weekend passed Ichigo by in nothing more than a vague blur. She spent the remainder of her weekend after the exhibition-happening in her room, doing homework, sleeping and thinking. She only came down to eat and her parents were slightly bothered by the fact that their daughter seemed to isolate herself from the rest of the world.<p>

The truth is though, that Ichigo just needed some times to think everything over. She wasn't quite sure whether she should be happy or annoyed by the fact that everything in her room, except her, was now awfully quiet. With the talkative alien gone, it all felt pretty empty, or just really spacious and relaxing. That's were Ichigo's dilemma started. Should she be glad or feel sorry?

Thinking this question over and over, Ichigo hoped to find the answer. Although she tried very hard, on Sunday evening, she still couldn't conclude anything. It aggravated her to no end, even her dreams were filled with the damned alien that brought her so much head aches with his.. His…

What was it exactly anyway? For the death of her Ichigo didn't understand what kind of effect this alien boy had on her. 'How can I let him annoy me so much, when he isn't even around?' was the first thing Ichigo's conscious mind produced after she had been woken by her alarm clock.

She couldn't keep wondering for long, since it was Monday morning and she had school and Café Mew Mew to attend to today. Ryou would surely kill her if she didn't show up. He has never been overly patient with her to begin with, but lately even less so. She got more and more easily distracted the past week, which earned her some nice lectures from the arrogant blond.

'It's not like I can actually help it..' Ichigo thought groggily, while she brushed her hair and put her hair in two piggy tails, with the usual red ribbons. After smoothing out the last wrinkles from her grey school uniform, she stared at her mirror image a last time, before rushing down the stairs. She had ten minutes left for breakfast. Or so she thought…

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><p>She was late. Again. Luckily her teacher wasn't a very strict one, so she didn't get in any trouble. As she half ran, half stumbled into the classroom, she clumsily apologized for arriving late. Some of her classmates grinned or giggled. They were all quite used to this, but apparently it still was pretty funny to see a fellow pupil hurrying in five minutes late.<p>

The teacher merely nodded and gestured to the empty seat next to Moe, in the front of the middle row. Ichigo sighed, but sat down. 'This was going to be a long day…'

"Overslept again, didn't you?" Moe whispered curiously. Ichigo merely nodded and sighed again, trying to pay attention to what the teacher was saying. Her concentration quickly evaporated though and she couldn't resist the urge to look out of the window on her left.

She stayed like that for a while, watching birds, insects and a single stray cat come and go, wishing she was free to go where she wanted, like them. She wanted to be free too! However here she was, in a dull, depressing school building, fantasizing time away, because she was unable to listen to the lecture that the teacher was still giving.

Oh, how cruel it was! Why was her life so grey and never ending? How much she desired some colour, some excitement! She peered at the clock that hung teasingly above the teacher's head. Ten o'clock! She had been here less than two hours and she already started to become so desperate to get out that she began to think poetically! This was so unfair!

Then her eyes were drawn to the window again. She stared at one of the several trees for a while, when something moved in the corner of her left eye. She turned her head slightly… And nearly died from a heart attack. There, casually leaning against the wall, looking her straight in the eyes, was Kisshu. He wore his trademark smirk and had that rebellious and challenging glint in his golden eyes. Those golden orbs that sparkled in the sun, smiling at her.

Which was impossible since it was a rainy and very cloudy day. Suddenly realizing this, Ichigo blinked a few times and looked again. He was gone.

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><p>Finally! It was one o'clock and that meant one thing to the junior high scholars: Lunch break! Ichigo made her way to the bench where Masaya and she always had lunch together. It was near a group of trees and some bushes and most people didn't come here, so it was a quiet, private and pretty romantic place.<p>

She had been waiting for almost ten minutes when he showed up. Which was rather weird since he was almost always there before she was. She immediately understood why he wasn't this time though. Aoyama Masaya looked like, probably felt like and was most likely a totally broken wreck of a man.

He looked like hadn't slept in years, hadn't eaten or drunk in months and hadn't showered in days. It was not a pretty sight. Hell no. Only the sight of him was enough to make all his fan girls throw up their love and adoration for him and flush it through the toilet. Not our faithful Ichigo though.

She jumped up and ran towards him, the tears forming in her eyes. As soon as she reached him, he was trapped in a warm, soothing hug, which he returned immediately, resting his head on top of hers. He let her cry for him for a while, as they stood like that. The wind blew through their hair, making it swirl around magically and making his smell magically drill right into Ichigo's nose.

And believe it when it's said that it smelled BAD. The guy really hadn't showered for days! The horrible smell of death, sweat and who knows what else made Ichigo feel the urge to gag. She didn't however, as she was sure that it would hurt his feelings and that's something she really, really didn't want right now.

"Ichigo, thank you… so much…" His voice sounded hoarse. 'Like he had cried for hours without saying anything and now spoke again for the first time.' Ichigo thought sadly, nuzzling her nose deeper in his clean shirt, which (thank heavens!) didn't smell of him that much yet. Little did she know that she was not that far off.

He reluctantly let go off her, something she was in the back of her mind very grateful for, for reasons unknown to her.

They sat and ate their lunch in silence, both were to uncertain about what to say to speak up. When both of them were done, Masaya collected all the courage and willpower he had to force one sentence out of his mouth.

"Yukka will be buried in two days at sunset, please join me?"

The last part sounded more like a plead. He was practically begging her. And who was she to turn down such an obvious beg? "Of course, Aoyama-kun, I'll be there for you… and her.." Ichigo answered softly, grabbing his hand to give it a squeeze of reassurance.

That's when his floodgates broke and poured out. He cried. Never before had she witnessed him cry in such despair, such sorrow. She could do nothing more to console him than hug him, sway him lightly and stroke his hair lovingly, while he let it all out. She was his girlfriend, she was supposed to support him like this. Then why did it feel so wrong?

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><p>School was over now and it started raining. Ichigo hurried to Café Mew Mew and for once she was not too late. As usual when she walked in, Minto was already sipping her tea, greeting her with the superior air that Ichigo had grown accustomed to. Purin was also present today, cleaning the tables and singing happily. She sure was in a good mood lately.<p>

Nobody has asked her why, but Ichigo didn't even need to. If both Kisshu and Pai were here, it was inevitable that Taruto was also around.

Retasu had arrived here before Ichigo too, and was busy helping Keiichiro out with all kinds of things in the kitchen. She also was rather light-headed lately. Then again, there was no point in asking for the answer was inescapable as well. Pai.

Somewhere Ichigo pitied Ryou. She suspected him of having a certain thing for Retasu, but never having the guts to tell the green Mew. So Retasu remained unaware, not even slightly expecting it. She was not the type to flatter herself by thinking some guys had actually fallen for her without having any proof.

No, if Ryou didn't speak up, Midorikawa 'Lettuce' Retasu would forever be out of his grasp. There was no way on Earth that the shy girl would ever take the first step, if she were to return the affections. And Ichigo was pretty sure that she didn't.

'Too bad for him, he shouldn't be a complete jerk to everyone and then expect everything he wants to come to him.' Ichigo thought carelessly, changing in her maids uniform.

She got herself a broom and started sweeping the floor. It was her usual chore, which she grew to like a little. Well, she just didn't mind doing it anymore. It was a pity that Masaya no longer worked at the café. They often did this together. But he had to study hard, train hard for Kendo etc. etc., so he quitted almost immediately after the final battle against Deep Blue.

Ichigo supposed that working here would remind him too much of all that happened back then.

She kept on working like this, her body going on the automatic pilot, so she could get lost in her own thoughts. Until Purin gave her a wake-up call, Purin-style, that is. They had opened and the first customers started pouring in. Yes, they did very good business. To Ichigo's annoyance, it was never visible on her pay check.

It was like any other day at Café Mew Mew. She, Ichigo, worked 'til she dropped, Purin got herself some rather nice tips for her acrobatic performances, Retasu broke a thing or to, but at least did the work she was supposed to do and Minto… Well, Minto did nothing besides having tea, which is, of course, no surprise at all.

At the end of the day, Ichigo sat down for the first time in three hours. What a drag! It wasn't all in vain though! Akasaka-san was as kind and gentleman-like as ever and treated all of them to a piece of cake. To be more specific a piece of apple pie with a generous amount of whipped cream on top, making the dessert a piece of heaven on Earth to the hungry Mews (especially Purin).

Purin's piece was gone in two seconds flat. It was no wonder, as she always had been the one with the biggest appetite, despite her deceiving small frame. Retasu and Minto only took small bites, one at a time, so they were occupied for a while, but Ichigo's was gone only seconds after Purin's.

She felt like she could eat a whole cow or two, still, but then again it would be dinnertime soon, so she would be enjoying a nice warm meal about a half an hour later.

Nonetheless, Ichigo wanted to chat a little with her friends before going home, so she decided to subtly start a conversation.

"So Retasu, how's Pai doing?" Ichigo asked casually. This resulted in Retasu almost choking on a bit of pie and turning flaming red before she answered shyly.

"F-fine, I supp-ppose…"

Ichigo smiled at this. "Good. Say, are you two already like, together together?"

Retasu looked absolutely mortified right then. "N-no, of-of course not! Wh-what gave you the i-idea?"

"But you did go on a date with him, last Saturday, right?" Ichigo shot back immediately, recalling the awkward phone-call.

Purin couldn't help, but join in and even Minto bent a little forward, showing her obvious interest in her shy friend's lovelife, but still keeping her cool.

"Retasu-oneechan and Pai-oniisan are in love, na no da?" Purin exclaimed excitedly. "I should have seen it coming from the start. Now I think of it, it always has been hanging in the air." Minto shrugged, as if it was, like she said, the most common thing in the world that a shy, kind human girl had a relationship with a monotone, calculating alien guy from the other side of space.

At this point, poor Retasu could do nothing more than mumble incoherent things about it not being true and something with 'ridiculous' and 'he would never consider'. Ichigo felt guilty for suddenly attacking the green Mew, so she quickly turned the tables.

"What about you, Purin? If Pai and Kisshu are here, Taruto must be, too. No doubt, he has been visiting you, right?" Ichigo ended with a wink and a suggestive smile, and everyone turned their attention on Purin. A blush was creeping up the young girl's face.

But she smiled, too. "Yup! Taru-Taru has been coming and going to my house for some time now. Not when my brothers and sister are around, 'cause they don't know anything about the aliens and we don't want to scare them. But we're just friends! Taru-Taru is my best buddy in the world, nothing more!" She let out an awkward laugh, knowing that whatever she said, her friends wouldn't believe that Taru-Taru and she were just friends.

The other girls observed the uncomfortable blond closely. The blush still lit up her cheeks and she seemed lost in thought for a moment or two, before snapping back into reality.

Her expression turned into a sad one.

"Even if I did like him like that… He would never know… He would never feel the same, na no da…" she whispered, for once not the cheerful, over energized monkey Mew, but a depressed, hurting teenage girl.

The mood turned grave and for few tormenting long minutes nobody spoke. Then Ichigo broke the painful silence and it seemed like she turned the lights on.

"How would you know, unless you've tried? I know it hard, but you should tell him about your feelings. He would be a really foolish midget if he turned you down and totally unworthy as a friend if he let it affect your friendship. Trust me, Purin, you should."

Purin looked up at Ichigo to see the Mew leader give her a genuine and encouraging smile. She returned it reluctantly. As she did, her courage and believe seemed multiply a tenfold.

"You're right, Ichigo-oneechan! He should know, na no da!" With that she jumped up from her chair, nearly knocking it over.

"I have to go. If I hurry I can find him, tell him, pick Heicha up from the childcare centre and cook dinner in time, na no da!"

No-one could reply, since Purin was already out the door a second after she finished her sentence, her maid uniform folded neatly on her chair. 'How did she do that?' Ichigo wondered, but she would never know, for some things would always stay a mystery.

"I think I must change now too. My car will be here in a moment." Minto stated, as she stood up and made her way to the dressing room. Which left only Ichigo, Retasu and a few plates and forks. Retasu collected the plates and forks and brought them to the kitchen.

She came out a moment later. Apparently Akasaka-san told her he would wash them. 'He is such a kind guy.' Ichigo thought, staring at the doors Retasu had entered through, while the green-haired girl took the seat beside the catgirl.

Retasu let out a hardly audible sigh, fumbling with her fingers. Ichigo turned to look at her friend and was surprised to see a weird mingle of happiness and sadness on Retasu's face. She had seen Purin make that face too. So she was in love with Pai.

"Retasu….?" "Yes, Ichigo-san?" "You should too, you know."

Retasu immediately sat up straight, but kept her eyes on her hands, which were now folded on her lap. The small smile on her face grew ever so slightly and she sadly shook her head 'no'.

"He is not the kind of person to love someone like me." She answered softly.

"How can he not love a kind person like you? Someone like you should get the best of guys! If you think he's the one, you should go for it!" Ichigo cheered.

"Never mind. Thank you, Ichigo-san, but I want him to be with the best girl there is for him. That's not me. He'll find someone like that and I'll be happy for him." Retasu replied with a hoarse, broken tone in her voice, tears forming in her eyes.

"For once you should put yourself first, Retasu. He won't get any better than you, because you are the best. Really, grab hold of him and never let him go!" Ichigo grabbed Retasu's hands, making the other girl jump slightly, and squeezed them to emphasize her point.

"Really?" Retasu had found her voice again and her eyes didn't seem so wet anymore.

"Really." Ichigo stated determined.

The moment between the two Mews was ruined by three light taps on the doorpost of the front door. Both turned towards the intruder.

There, in all his glory, stood Pai. His left pointing finger curved an inch away from the doorpost and his right arm limb next to his body, some portable device in his hand. He stood there, up straight like only Pai could, looking at them with eyes of stone.

"Ah, I'm late! I'm sorry, Pai-san, I got into a conversation with Ichigo-san! I'm so sorry." Retasu had clumsily stood up from her chair and bowed deeply a couple of times, before running towards the dressing room that Minto just exited.

Minto looked pretty surprised to see Pai in the doorway, but recomposed herself an instant later. She made her way to him and the door, casually throwing a "See you tomorrow, Ichigo." over her shoulder. He stepped aside to let her through and as she passed she said loud and clear: "You'd better be kind to Retasu or I'll beat you back to your planet."

"I will be a most decent companion." He answered without skipping a beat. As she left, Minto let a tiny smile grace her lips.

After that, a silence fell in the Café. Ichigo studied Pai, but didn't dare to say anything. Pai seemed to read her thoughts though. "You should not worry, Mew Ichigo. Midorikawa-san and I are merely going to investigate twelve different kinds of soil. I do not intend to do anything inappropriate or hurtful to her. She will be safe in my hands."

"I don't doubt that." Ichigo murmured, more to herself than him. He was about to question her when Retasu appeared. "Shall we go, then?" She asked him uncertainly, while walking up to him. "Yes. Goodbye, Mew Ichigo." "Goodbye, Ichigo-san." with that Retasu grabbed Pai's hand and they were gone.

This was all so cute! Her friends, in love with their former enemies. Talking about romantic. 'The man of my dreams is just human though. Well, partily, anyway.' Then images of Kisshu flooded into her mind. 'What about him?' A little voice whispered. Ichigo shook it off agitatedly. She didn't want to think of that guy, when everything was going so well.

Ichigo stood up, put the chairs back in order and took Purin's uniform to the dressing room, where she went to change back into her ordinary clothes. When she finished, she grabbed her bag, yelled "Til tomorrow, Shirogane-san, Akasaka-san!" and off she was.

As she ran, she looked at her watch and sped up.

'Whaaa! I'm late for dinner again!'

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><p><strong>A.N. Hello, dear readers and reviewers! Thank you so much for reading all this so far and for being so positive about my work. This is the first time I really write (meaning that it's not some lazy typing, but real labour put into this…) and overall the reactions I receive are very positive, which I am grateful for. Something I also wish you to know is that I am really surprised by the amount of people who read this fan fiction and in which countries it is read. I mean, it's been read in countries of which I didn't know they even existed! It means a lot to me. I'm not doing A.N. Notes very often for one reason: a lack of time. So, everyone: Thank you for reading this and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it! ^^<strong>

**P.S. I figured out how the horizontal bar-thing works! Praise *whoever you think I should be praising*!**

**_Edit on December 8th: Note that I edited the earlier chapters, so they have the horizontal bars too. Thought that straightening out the lay-out wouldn't hurt... _**

**_Review or/and continue!_  
><strong>


	14. Paradise

**A.N. One thing: Enjoy the chapter!**

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><p>"Ichigo… Ichigo…"<p>

She turned around to see who was calling her, but no-one was there. Confused, she resumed walking down the path she was following. For the first time she noticed where she was in the first place. A forest, probably the one the Mew Aqua created after the Final Battle. The memories of that horrid time returned to her again, as they have done many times before.

_"I am Deep Blue… I'm the new ruler of this planet…" It can't be true…Aoyama-kun… Aoyama-kun.._ That was all she could think at that moment. Everything seemed to fall apart, as if Tokyo had already collapsed. But the real terror had just begun…

_"Aoyama and the Blue Knight are merely parts of Deep Blue-sama's true spirit. Now Deep Blue-sama has awakened and the no longer necessary parts have been erased." Pai had stated. With his words he had shattered what felt like her entire being and had thrown her in a haze of shock and disbelief._

She hadn't wanted, no she hadn't been able to believe it, until Mint forced her to face it.

_"Get it together, Mew Ichigo! It's painful, but how long do you intend to behave like a spoiled child? That's not Ichigo!" Her slap had hurt, but Minto's words stung even more than Ichigo's cheek did._

The words, the slap, the look, those were the things that made her realise that she could not go on like she did.

Deep Blue had risen his sword and Kisshu had warned her. He warned her…

_"That's bad, Ichigo! That sword will destroy the whole planet!" Dark blue power had collected itself above the sword, like a dark cloud ready to rain and thunder. And as Deep Blue brought it down, the ground split open, because of the force and only seconds later, Tokyo and it's surroundings were nothing more than some ruins. It was as if her darkest nightmare had come true. And she was kept alive to watch all she loved dissolve into nothing._

That's when she couldn't stand aside and just watch anymore.

Before she knew it, she was engaging Deep Blue in a battle, a battle for the Earth, for her friends, for everything and everyone. Waiting too. For him. For Aoyama-kun and his kind smile to return. And Shirogane had to save her in the end. He talked some hope into her. Into all the Mews.

_The battle then officially commenced. They all landed their attacks, but despite that Deep Blue didn't have a scratch on him. His sword seemed to suck it all up. Then Deep Blue surprised them all, by leaving the battle, claiming to have gotten 'too fired up by those weaklings'. Out of nowhere he produced what seemed to be his palace in midair and left it to Pai to do the dirty work. _By this time, Taruto had obviously changed sides and Kisshu had gone off to who knows where.

Although Pai had been by far outnumbered, he hadn't let any of them pass. That's when Akasaka-san contacted them, shoving another surprise in their faces.

_"The Mew Aqua is in that base!" In there. She had to get in there. Pai created a Chimera Animal, probably knowing that allowing anyone to pass, was out of the question. Mew Lettuce took it down, telling Ichigo to go. Ichigo kicked off and went for it, while Mew Lettuce, Mew Mint and Mew Pudding kept the Animal occupied. Still, Pai was not out of the picture. He tried to oppose her, but was quickly stopped by Zakuro and, shockingly, Taruto._

_"Hurry up, Ichigo, and go!"_ He had yelled. Pai had cursed him, but Taruto confessed. _"I… Don't like it anymore. I don't like fighting them anymore!" "Foolish."_ Pai had replied.

With that said, they attacked each other. Pai struck Taruto, who, since they were flying, crashed into the ground. He died.

Ichigo hadn't had the time to mourn however. She had to go on. For Earth's sake. And all her loved ones'.

She wouldn't know what happened down there afterwards. She never dared to ask anyone.

_She climbed what felt like a million stairs, before she reached that room. That cursed room. Deep Blue attacked her immediately, she didn't know how many hits she had taken or evaded, but at one point she was on her knees, ready to die by the hand of her love. That is where he came in. Kisshu._

_He told his master to lay down his hands. "Earthlings aren't worth troubling yourself with." he had said. For a moment or two it looked like he was personally going to murder her. But he evaporated and half a second later, his sword was on his master's, her supposed to be love's, throat._

_"You never intended to help my people! You only wanted this planet all for yourself! If you want Earth so badly, go ahead, but I will never allow you to have Ichigo!" Ichigo was both struck by sadness and shock by this small speech._

_Deep Blue, however, replied coldly. "In the end, you plan to oppose me?" At which Kisshu only grinned before stating "Indeed… DIE!"_

But in the very end, it was him who died there. Ichigo had, for the first and hopefully the last time in her life, held a dying man in her arms, hearing his last words and eventually felt his last breath on her lips…

No. Not his last breath. He had been revived, she had been told by her friends. He had saved them, had gotten them out of that place, with Pai and Taruto helping him. Their sign of repayment. Redemption.

_"Ichigo… I'll teach you something good…." _

"KISSHU!"

She relived the moment a bit too well. She cried out his name just like before. But this time a peculiar soft voice answered her desperate, broken cry.

"Ichigo… Ichigo…"

Suddenly, he stood there. In the middle of her path, a few metres away from her. Her heart leapt into her throat, astonishing her. Why was she feeling the way she did? How many times had he already made her wonder what it was.

She looked him straight in the eye and as she saw the twinkling of delight, of excitement in his eyes, she knew. How could she not have placed it sooner? Since the moment he had returned, that he had practically lived with her, it had been there. First a shy, slowly rising flame lit up her existence, yet as the week went by, through all the strange events, this small flame grew out to be a roaring fire.

Love. She loved this weird, happy, carefree, teasing, devoted, strong, playful, pointed-eared, golden-eyed, grinning alien boy. Kami knows how it was possible, but she did. And he knew. He had always know. Sneaky little bastard.

She all of a sudden realised she must have been staring for a while now. She flushed completely, her head turning into a tomato and of course, his grin only widened. She felt her ears and tail popping out, yet, figuring she didn't care, she started to run towards him.

Instead of doing what her mind usually told her to do (stop, turn around and take a sprint in the exact opposite direction) she flung herself into his awaiting arms, hugging him like there was no tomorrow. She felt herself shake under his touch, as he casual slipped his arms around her, returning the hug and for one moment, everything stood still.

Nothing moved, the only thing she heard, saw, felt and smelled was him. His heartbeat, his shirt which moved slightly in a wind she was unaware of, his arms around her, his every soft breath in her hair. It was all so unreal.

He gently pushed her away a little, creating some space between them, before closing it again by plunging down and capturing her lips with his. Never had he kissed her so softly, gently and without any force. Just raw affection. Love. It was like he silently whispered the words in her ear. It was utter bliss.

Yet, moments like these never last forever and all too soon his lips left hers. He smiled the cutest smile she had ever seen, took her hand and started walking. She followed him and a silence fell. It was very comfortable though. They just enjoyed each other's presence. After strolling through the forest for some time, they found a small lake in the woods.

Ichigo was wonder-struck at the sight of it. It was like paradise.

_"I will take you away to paradise, Koneko-chan!"_ Yes… He had promised her that and he sure didn't break his promise! It was beautiful.

He turned around to face her, snapping her back to life with his movement. Still not saying anything, he grinned at her, kissed her cheek and then jumped head first in the water. The water was so clear that she could see him make his way to the other side of the lake, not once coming up for air. Because he didn't need to. With his darn extraterrestrial breathing system.

She rid herself of her jacket, shoes and socks and jumped after him, hoping to be able to catch up on him. Somehow he noticed when she hit the water, because he turned around and headed towards her. Being the show-off he was, he swum deeper until he met the bottom and from there on began to leisurely stroll towards her.

While she was maybe one metre deep, he was three metres deep. Looking down on him sure was fun. All the fish that surrounded they or passed them by enriched the scene, making it altogether no less than enchanting. Ichigo even forgot that, unlike Kisshu, she actually needed air to breath.

She only started to notice that she needed a breath when she was already making her way to Kisshu and her vision began to blur. She let out the last bit of air she had, vaguely realising that she was nearly unconscious.

Despite her lack of attention to her primary needs, Kisshu seemed to understand just fine what was going on. He kicked of the bottom of the lake, moving faster through the water than one would imagine and took hold of her, heading to the surface with worry and seriousness edged on his features.

As soon as they broke through the water's surface, Ichigo gasped for air, shaking like crazy in Kisshu's arms. He flew them to the bank of the lake, laying her down in the grass. She didn't stop shaking and gasping, her chest going up and down at a worrying speed. Kisshu managed to relax her by stroking her cheek for a while.

"Ichigo…" He whispered silently, showing that he himself needed to recover from the shock too. He looked like a breathless fallen angel, the way his face hovered above hers.

Ichigo tried to pull herself together by concentrating on his touch. Currently, he was pushing her hair out of her eyes, each movement careful and soft, as if she were a porcelain doll. She closed her eyes and lay there, with him beside her.

When she opened her eyes again the whole world had fallen into the darkness, the only light being the stars and the full moon in the sky and the fire on her right, approximately five to ten metres away. She sat up, looking around. Kisshu was nowhere to be seen.

Suddenly, she felt two hands on her face as her whole world turned completely dark.

"Ichigo…"

"Kish!" She immediately answered enthusiastically. The hands were pulled away and sure enough, when she turned her head he was there, grinning his trademark grin, looking at her challengingly. He surprised her by then offering her his hand, which she gratefully took.

As he helped her back on her feet she smiled at him, making his whole face lit up, as if he himself was a light source. He walked her to a clearing where hundreds, maybe thousands of fireflies were dancing.

She stared in awe at the performance, wondering how it was possible for such marvellous scenes to be so close to her home and how it was possible for her to witness them. For the first time in what felt like ages, she felt special.

She was pulled out of her reveries by a tapping feeling on her shoulder. Kisshu stood next to her, again offering his hand. She took it with a smile and a light-hearted laugh. He returned the smile and took both her hands in his.

In the middle of the clearing, they started to dance, along with the fireflies. It felt like magic and Ichigo wished it would never end. She wanted to stay like this forever, never leaving this place, never leaving him. How could life get any better than this? What place could be better than his arms?

She closed her eyes and let him lead them, slowly but surely she felt her feet get off the ground, her bare feet no longer touched grass, they touched the air. They flew, without opening her eyes, she was sure of this. She wasn't afraid though, as long as he had her in his arms, she wouldn't fall. He wouldn't let her.

She slowly opened her eyes and looked at his face, which was lit by the moon, showing how handsome he actually was, with his masculine, yet childlike features.

"Kish, I… Thank you so much…" she whispered softly, barely moving her lips. She let out one content sigh. "I love you…"

"Ichigo…" he whispered in return. As she looked up at him with expectant eyes, he closed the gap between them, kissing her, in the full moon, above the clearing, while dancing along with the fireflies.

Ichigo's eyes closed, relishing the feeling, the moment, him, everything.

"Ichigo!" Wait a second, that voice didn't belong to her Kish.

Her eyes shot open, but instead of seeing Kish's face with a deliriously beautiful background, she saw her plain pink ceiling! She sat up, her covers slipping off her.

"Ichigo, dear, wake up, or you are going to be late!" she heard her mother call.

Feeling heavily disappointed, she dropped back in her bed. It had all been a dream.

But why did she feel so let down? She hated Kisshu! He was a murderer, a liar, not worth paying attention to. Then why could he worm himself into her thoughts and dreams?

Surely, she didn't really love him. Ha! The idea, it was ridiculous! Right? Right?

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><p><strong>A.N. Here's the fourteenth chapter already! My first real fanfiction is getting bigger than I expected. And I love it. Also, I've been getting a lot of enthusiastic comments. Please, dear reviewers, don't hesitate to leave me another messages. They honestly make my day. If I may be bold enough, I would like to ask you to give me some critics from time to time. I want to keep improving, in order to make my chapters more enjoyable to read, so it's not only for my sake, but for yours as well!<strong>

**But above all, I naturally hope you keep reading and enjoying my work! ^^**

_**Edit: Review and/or continue! XD**_


	15. Just Admit It!

**A.N. Last chapter was a nice interruption, huh?**

**But we're going back to reality!**

**Have fun reading!**

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><p>After pulling herself together again, Ichigo pushed all thoughts concerning a certain alien away and started her regular morning routine. She put on her grey school uniform, combed her hair, put the red ribbons in her hair and went downstairs, as usual. She had her breakfast, before getting her schoolbag, which also went exactly the same as any other ordinary schoolday. But Ichigo was totally out of it.<p>

The rest of the day passed like a blur. Places seemed to pass her by, people came and went, as did the conversations. To Ichigo the day was a void. It was like she woke up in the morning, had a major black-out and then somehow ended up sitting in her desktop chair, 'doing homework', when her brains seemed to restart.

That's when all kinds of thoughts concerning one person flooded her mind at once. This, of course, resulted in an out-of-proportions-size headache. Wanting it to stop, Ichigo forced herself to focus on one of the thoughts.

She focused on her first memory of him. The first time they met.

"_I wanted to see the human trying to sabotage our plans, but you're pretty cute!" __"Who are you?" _she'd asked. That's when he had kissed her, before answering _"My name is Kisshu, thanks for the kiss."_

If there was one moment in her life that she would never forget, it was that moment. Then something occurred to her. Why? Why would she never forget his infamous entrance? Sure it had been shocking and her first kiss was taken, but Aoyama-kun kissed her so often when then went out after the Final Battle and her boyfriend turning out to be Deep Blue had by far been more shocking.

'You love him…You love that cocky alien that had the guts to kiss you back then…' Argh! The voice was back again. 'I don't love him, I don't love him, I DON'T love HIM!' Ichigo chanted, trying and failing to mute the voice.

'But you do, you do, you DO!' the voice replied in an annoying sing-a-song manner. 'Do you need prove? Tell me, what do you feel at THIS?'

Ichigo involuntary relived the second time she ran into Kisshu.

"_We meet again, honey! … Hmmm? You're face changed colour.. So you liked it, my kiss? Wanna try again?" "Of course NOT!" She attempted to kick him, but he backed off in time. "Tomboyish as always, huh?"_

What was this? What was that voice trying to prove? That she didn't hate him anymore, like she used to? That Kisshu is less of a bothersome, cocky ass now?

'Cute to watch, isn't it?' The voice said lightly, taking Ichigo by surprise. 'What's cute about this? He's just toying with me and I get agitated, that's it!'

'Baka, what I'm going to show you is a timeline, so you can structurally see you and him develop. This was only a fragment, but a very amusing one, nonetheless.' 'Can we move on, please?' 'Sure thing!'

A new scene was dug up out of a not so far corner in Ichigo's memories. She was Mew Ichigo now and she was standing in a classroom. A classroom filled with what looked like huge bacteria. Kisshu was just floating there, obviously rather entertained.

"_I'll tear him apart limb by limb in front of you." He said. "Eh?" "You can enjoy the sight of it, the sight of a feeble man dying a slow death." He spoke so calmly, as if talking about the weather. And that fact plus his plan was pissing her off. "Who'd let you do such a thing!" She attacked the Chimera Animal, but rather than destroying it, her attack only multiplied the whole thing! It started strangling Aoyama-kun, tying her up so she was unable to do anything. Panic gripped at her heart._

"_STOP IT!" "I can stop it… on one condition." Now she was just plain confused. "What do you intend to do?" He merely smiled and patted her head playfully, while he answered: "You know, I always say it…" That's when he turned serious and grabbed her face rather harshly. "Be mine, and I'll spare him" After speaking these words, he leaned in to kiss her._

'See? While your feelings haven't changed at all, his fondness of you has grown so much that he can't stand the fact that you love another guy and seriously wants him dead.' The voice pointed out.

Ichigo wasn't so sure about what to think. What was this leading to? What was the point. She had hated him, that much was clear. He had liked her, she already knew that too. A new feeling that she wasn't expecting to be there though, was sympathy. She felt sorry for what she put him through, regardless of the fact whether he deserved it or not.

Although he was a murderer now. That's right! She shouldn't neglect that fact!

'Face it, you baka, you sympathise with him, no matter what he has done and might have done.' the voice said, interrupting Ichigo's train of thoughts. 'Next!'

_She was dreaming. This was the time she was captured by Taruto and Pai. They used a sort of dream-Chimera Animal on her, which trapped the other Mews inside her dream. She was woken up by someone shouting her name._

"_Ichigo! Wake up! Get up! Look at me!" She tried, but she couldn't reach it. She couldn't reach the voice. It didn't give up though. _

"_COME ON! Wake up and look at me! Get up! Look at me, right here!" She wanted to wake up. She tried and tried. Finally, she managed to get her eyes to open. And right there, in front of her, looking at her, was the person she least expected to see._

"_Kisshu!" She snapped awake, surprise evident in her voice. "Ichigo!" he grunted in reply, keeping his teeth clenched, obviously in pain. He let her go and she fell. _

At that moment it all happened so fast and the events that followed were the only ones of that day that she ever had given thought to afterwards. But remembering this particular moment, for the first time she realised… He had saved her! He saved her and the Mews. Even though he himself had been bleeding, even though he could've killed himself by undertaking action, he saved her. Not the Blue Knight, not the Mews, not even Shirogane. Kisshu.

'Surprising, don't you think?' the voice noted. Ichigo felt uncomfortable discussing this further. This proved that he in fact did really care, even back then already. For some reason, knowing this made her feel weird in her stomach. Not really looking forward to more, she barely nodded inwardly. The voice, whatever it was, got the hint though.

"_You're always so aggressive." 'That stupid bothersome alien! Why did he need to show up now! I was going to see my Aoyama-kun!' "What did you come here for?" 'Huh? What's with the sudden seriousness?' "W-What?" "I came to pick you up." 'What the…?' Kisshu's eyes lit up, literally, while he maintained his serious face. It scared her, so Ichigo ran for it. _

There were some things that struck Ichigo. Things she never noticed. Like how he really looked confused at her, when he mentioned her aggression. It looked like he really tried to understand her, but couldn't. Was it possible that he had been trying for a while then?

She had shook him out of it with her words. It seemed he remembered his purpose again. Picking her up.

'But we're not done here yet…' The voice said. Ichigo could swear that she heard a smile in the tone in which it spoke.

"_Too bad… Let's go, Ichigo." She had run into a dead end! "No!" She didn't want to go! "Come on already, even if you say 'no', I'm taking you. I've already decided." He scared her. What was this? He couldn't be serious! "I came all the way to pick you up, so come with me." He couldn't just go through with this! It was mad. Never in a million years would she go with HIM. Besides, she was going on a date today! _

"_NO! I have an important date! I don't have time for this!" When would it get through to him? "I won't forgive you for disobeying me, I WILL take you with me." Well, apparently not now. "Come with me, Ichigo, let's go… Come on." He tried to grab her, but she managed to dodge and take a run for it. Too bad that this alien was fast. His hand found her wrist and held onto it in a way that just screamed 'You're not getting away now.' _

"_No!" she yelled in defeat. She tried to free herself, but his hand didn't move an inch. "Why won't you do as I say?" What kind of question is that? She didn't want to go! And why should she even? "Just why should I obey you?" "Why..?" He looked taken aback for a second before his face softened into a kind smile she didn't know he was capable of. "Ichigo…"_

_His soft voice shocked her, but he went on in the same manner. "I went through all the trouble to pick you up. Now come with me… Just the two of us, to world with nobody else, and without fighting." She barely registered his words. She couldn't fathom this guy. What was he offering her? And why?_

"_Huh? What? What are you talking about, Kisshu?" was all she could bring out. He merely replied: "This is the only way, the only option. Let's go, Ichigo." This didn't make sense at all! "I don't understand. I don't get what you mean." He surprised her by grabbing shoulder, effectively turning her to face him completely. He smiled sweetly and looked down on her expectantly, as if he was mentally trying to get her to understand something that she simply couldn't._

"_Don't be stubborn, I know you'll understand. You'll come with me, right." She didn't understand much of the situation, but what she did understand though was that she DIDN'T want to go with him. _

_So she violently shook her head 'no'. His eyes screamed hurt and confusion, while his face turned into an angry grimace. "I said this much and you still don't understand?"_

Ichigo was shaking in her chair. Being reminded of these memories was extremely confusing. How could she have been so dense not to see? He had wanted to take her away from the danger, wanted her to live safely, in peace.

With him. Because he loved her. He cared. Always, she had thought of it as nothing but a game for him. Even as he died, she didn't realise that he wasn't just over obsessive, that she wasn't just a toy to him. It was so obvious now, as she replayed his stares, his actions, his words in her mind. He had always said it, said that he loved her, but in a way that just didn't come across to her. But why?

Was he just unable to word his feelings, to show what he meant? But how could that be true when he always claimed to love her? He knew what his feelings were. He just… Just…

'Tried to find a way to show his affection in his own weird way, not understanding that you wouldn't understand if he put it that way.' the voice finished for her.

It woke Ichigo from her own reveries, effectively snapping her back into reality. She sighed, unaware that if anyone would've been in the room, it would have looked like she randomly sighed as the first sign of life in the past minutes.

'OK, so he was in love with me at the time that we were supposed to fight each other for Earth's sake. Point proven. Now what?'

'Now, I'm going to prove to you that YOU love HIM. I mean proving that he still does love you, is pretty pointless, since he declared that at the exhibition hall. And after skimming through some interesting… events, it's safe to say that he didn't lie.'

Ichigo's heart skipped a beat. 'Wh-What? I DON'T love him! He tried to destroy everything I care about, forced himself upon me, stole my first kiss and now sent my boyfriend into despair for losing someone close to him!'

'When you're done ranting, may we proceed?' Ichigo's anger flared up badly. 'Who are you to mock me and shove unwanted realisations in my face?' The voice replied calmly: 'I am you. You are me. You've been in an inward war for a while now. You feel that you love him, but you're too stubborn to admit it and to do something with it.'

'Am not!'

'See? There you go. Now onto your true, undeniable feelings for a certain alien. Remember this?'

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><p><strong>A.N. Dun dun dun DUUUUUN! Sorry it took me so long to update... ^^" I haven't written a lot, since this week wasis my last school week and I was practically thrown from one party/event to the other. Hell, I've been busy.**

**Anyway, this was supposed to be the first half of a huge (I mean HUGE!) chapter. But it took so long just to write this that I screwed my plan and just uploaded this as a chapter. So, it's slightly smaller than usual. Not that I write very large chapters anyway... But still!**

**I haven't answered any reviews, simply because I spent too less time on this story. But let me express my gratitude now, for the number of reviews has been increasing faster than I imagined. Thank you all very much, reviewers! =D**

**Of course, I also appreciate the readers that didn't review, but take this special thanks as a motivation to review in the future. ;)**

**I hope you enjoyed the story so far!**

**_Edit: Review or/and continue! =P_**


	16. Candy Drops

**A.N. As much as I love Ichigo, we're going on a little detour.**

**So hopefully you feel like reading what Pudding is up to, because that's what this chapter is about!**

**Have fun! ^^**

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><p>While Ichigo was having her epiphany, Pudding was reflecting on two very happy days. Yesterday she confessed her feelings to Taru-Taru and his response was better than she could have hoped for. She giggled out loud as she replayed the scene once more in her mind.<p>

"_Taru-Taru! Taru-Taru! Where are you, na no da? Hello? Earth to Taru-Taru, na no da!" She had her hands cupped around her mouth, running laps around the park were she had performed so often before she became a Mew Mew. In fact, this was the place where she had turned into Mew Pudding for the first time. And here she was once again, but this time she had been running around for half an hour, in search for a boy that just didn't show up. She was running out of time and energy._

_She stopped running, standing still on a grass field near the edge of the forest-part of the park. "Taruto…" she whispered, feeling defeated. She still had quite some time before she had to pick up Heicha, her younger sister, but she really felt like giving up already. He wasn't going to come._

"_Yo, little monkey! What were you yelling for, idiot?" _

_Her head shot up and she spun around. Yup, there he was, sitting in a tree with his legs swinging slightly, with that small grin present. He looked like he was perfectly comfortable. Little did he know, it wasn't going to last long._

" _Taru-Taru! Na no da!" It was as if someone fed her a happy pill or fifty and gave her some energy drink. Pudding went from let down to couldn't-have-been-happier in 0.02 seconds. In her enthusiasm to see him, Pudding jumped into his arms. No-one knows how it was for a little girl to nearly jump the height she was tall, but she did. Poor Taruto, of course, hadn't expected it either, though he should've been able to by now. He clumsily caught her, put lost his balance in progress, so he fell backwards out of his tree, Pudding still in his arms._

_Being the kids they were, they yelled and screamed loudly while going down. Luckily, the park was deserted at this time of the day, so there was no-one to look at them weirdly, especially at Taruto._

_Also, the alien's anatomy was build a little different than that of the human, since he had had to endure more, so he could take the hit very well, having not a scratch on him, but that was probably thanks to the soft grass they landed on. _

_After laying there for a few seconds in complete silence, Taruto grunted, shaking Pudding back into her senses, so she opened her eyes, which she had closed during the fall, and slowly let go of the shirt she had been clinging to. It was then that she realised that she was on top of her Taru-Taru, that he had his arms firmly around her waist and if she lifted her head, their faces would be barely an inch or two apart!_

_The thought itself was enough to make Pudding flush entirely. By this time, Taruto had opened his eyes as well and he noticed right away. He had no idea what it was and it worried him._

" _Hey! Monkey! Pudding! What's wrong?" Her ears perked up at his question and she felt the embarrassment bubbling in her chest. She felt that she was steaming and that she was bringing tomato-red to a new level, so she tried to conceal it by hiding in his shirt._

_But that didn't help her case in any way. His arms left her waist and he grabbed her face with both hands, tilting it up to take a better look. Pudding felt her face grow even hotter, if it was even possible, and wished for nothing more than to get out of there. Yet she couldn't bring herself to push him away or to even look away from his concerned eyes. _

_After examining her carefully, his right hand moved from her cheek to her forehead. Pudding felt herself involuntary push her face in his palm, closing her eyes for only a second, to relishing the feeling of having him so close. _

" _Are you ill? You're so hot… Like you have a fever or something'…" Taruto mumbled, looking up at her innocently. " N-no, it's just a-a-a bl-blush, na no da." Pudding stuttered, looking down as she did. She had to tell him. And she was going to do it today! She had decided that, so she would! She was a Fong, she didn't back down!_

" _Uhm… Taru-Taru?" She began nervously. " Yeah?" he answered, like he didn't have a care in the world. ' Here it goes!' Pudding thought. She looked him straight in the eye. " I-I-Pudding is in l-love with Taru-Taru, na no da…" Finally having said that, she felt her confidence returning. And she smiled a bitter smile, knowing he probably wouldn't understand._

" _You think I'm crazy, right, na no da? Just a silly human. But I don't care, as long as Taru-Taru will just stay my friend, na no da!" With that she put her hands beside his head and… pushed herself upright. Well, that was what she had planned to do, but she was roughly pulled down in a firm hug by Taruto. " Taru…Taru?" she whispered bewildered in his neck._

" _Stupid monkey… Don't you dare move or I'll beat the shit out of you, understood?" His words were muffled by her hair, since he had pressed his face in it, but she heard and understood him, so she just nodded once and kept silent after that. She had heard the crack in his voice and felt his face grow warmer and warmer, but she couldn't put the pieces together. ' What are you doing, Taru-Taru?' she wondered._

_A minute later Taruto pulled his face out of her hair and whispered softly: " Pudding… You never saw, did you?… Little monkey… I don't wanna be just a friend… I love you." Pudding stiffened for a second. Did he just…? Did he? Her Taru-Taru… She wanted to laugh, cry, jump around. She didn't get much time to let it sink in though._

" _Pudding, look at me." A command. That was totally him. Yet, she didn't mind, it was his own way of making a request. So she looked up… And he was suddenly very close. She saw a small blush coloured his face and she couldn't repress a smile. But he quickly whipped it off her face by coming closer._

_He hesitated a moment, but then seemed to make up his mind. He closed his eyes and kissed her._

Pudding couldn't help but giggle again, it had felt like time had stopped. She had done it! She had confessed and he had returned her feelings. It was like she was floating.

After the kiss he also immediately got rid of any tension that might have arisen in the silence, by wittily commenting: "I've got no candy with me, so I owe you, little monkey."

(A.N. You need to have read the manga to understand this!)

In the end they had spent another quarter of an hour together, chatting and teasing each other childishly, but all good things come to an end and Pudding had to pick up Heicha. They both agreed on meeting again the next day, when Pudding was done with work and before she had to do the shopping.

And so they did…

" _Taru-Taru?" Pudding shouted once, settling down in the grass as she did so. " I'm up here!" She looked up and yup, there he was again. Crossed-legged, grinning and floating six feet above her._

_She pouted. " Not fair, na no da! I want to be able to fly too, na no da! You still need to tell me how to, na no da!" He stuck his tongue out at her playfully. " Seriously, how many times do I have to tell you that I can't teach you? Flying is something you just can do or just can't do. I can, you can't. Face it, baby!" Pudding shot him an angry glare, her cheeks puffed up, when her eyes fell on his right hand. He was holding something._

" _Taru-Taru…?" She said, curiosity getting the best of her (not that she could stay angry at him for long anyway). " Yeah, what is it?" He answered, while laying down on air, mocking her by doing so. " What's that in your hand, na no da?" Pudding asked with the sweetest voice she could muster. Taruto seemed unaffected though. " What?" He shot back, looking bored. Then he snapped back in a sitting position. " Oh, you mean this?" He held up his hand, shaking the object he was holding._

_Pudding looked closely and saw that it was a bag… A candy bag. Puddings eyes lit up as she recognized it. " Candy drops, na no da! Gimme, gimme, gimme, na no da!" She started rolling over and over, back and forth in the grass, only stopping to stare at Taruto as he spoke. " Well, I was planning to, but apparently you don't want any, if you glare at me like that." He grinned. With that he opened the plastic bad and popped one of the drops in his mouth, sucking on them loudly to annoy Pudding. _

_And he succeeded. In no time he had her begging for a candy drop, crying like a baby. It was clearly faked, but after a few minutes of candy-consuming with her wailing on the background, Taruto couldn't take anymore of it._

" _Shut up, silly monkey!" He popped another candy drop in his mouth teleported in front of Pudding, sitting on his knees, because she was too. Before Pudding could utter a word or dry a tear, he kissed. It was a little weird, since he forced her mouth open and she tasted… citron? _

_He backed off grinning. " Alright, you got your candy drop, now stop pretending to be sad, silly." He stood up, now standing above her, obviously feeling like he was some sort of victor. Pudding beamed at him and then swallowed the citron-flavoured candy. She put up her big doe-eyes, looking as lovable as she could, while she asked: " Another one, please, na no da?" He shook his head with a smile on his face._

_Still, he groped the inside of the bag, pulling out a pink candy drop. Inspecting it for a second, he shrugged and bowed over, holding the candy in front of Pudding's lips. She gratefully opened her mouth, allowing him to drop the candy in it. " Thank you, na no da." She said, giving her Taru-Taru a small smile before she dedicated all her attention to the strawberry flavour in her mouth._

_Not to long after, they sat on the grass together, opposite of each other, with the candy bag in the middle, feeding each other the sweets. Which sometimes went wrong, creating amusing scenes for those who would watch them. That time at that day, however, the park was once again entirely empty, so the two of them amused no-one except themselves and the other._

_But, time flies when you have fun and way too soon, Pudding had to leave once again. They made no actual new arrangement, but Taruto promised he would come around some time soon._

And here she was cooking a meal for her and her siblings barely two hours later. She couldn't wait to see him again. Hopefully he would have another bag of candy with him… ' Hmmm, candy…' Pudding was on the edge of drooling, but she caught herself daydreaming before she could mess up the dinner she was preparing.

She had to thank Ichigo-oneechan still. If Ichigo-oneechan hadn't given her the advice to just confess, she would still be walking around with bottled-up feelings. Now they flew free and it felt absolutely, utterly great. Na no da!

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><p><strong>A.N. *Sigh* And this was another chapter of <em>Coming down to Earth<em>! The sixteenth already. Man, this goes fast. Anyway, I hope you people don't mind it that I put in a little PXT chapter? ^^**

**I adore those two, not as much as Kisshu and Ichigo, but still! I felt like writing some cute fluff and they are made for that kind of stories!**

**Oh! Something you should know is that the whole candy-thing is originally from the manga. Some of you might not have read it (You should!) so I'll explain in short:**

At the end of the original story the aliens tell the Mews goodbye properly (meaning: they had some time before they went). When they do, Pudding approaches Taruto, who's sitting in a tree. She asks him if it really is goodbye. He says it is. It looks like she kisses him, but in fact she just passes on a candy drop **(mouth to mouth.. XD)**. She hands him some more, claiming that she does so, because she doesn't want to make it a goodbye. The scene ends with Taruto declaring that he 'might come back again to get another candy drop!'.

**That's pretty much it... OK, I'm out of things to write.**

**Enjoy the fanfiction and goodnight to you all! =D**

**_Edit: Review or/and continue!_  
><strong>


	17. I'm Sorry!

**A.N. And we're back to Ichigo!**

**All I can add is the simple but effective: 'Enjoy!'**

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><p>Pudding was having lots of fun, recalling her past few days, but meanwhile, Ichigo was still being thrown from one memory into the other. It was time for the more recent ones now, starting at the most obvious point: His arrival.<p>

_"Aww.. Was my little Kitty Cat crying? Shall I comfort you with a little kiss?"_

_Shock and disbelief washed over her. Was he really there? Was she dreaming? Why did it feel so unreal? Why was she so… So… Relieved? She couldn't place it, she didn't understand. She had stopped crying, because of her own confusion._

_"What do you look shocked, Kitty Cat. It's not the first time we meet, is it?"_

_Arrogant attitude, cheeky grin, pointed ears, golden eyes, green ears. Yes, it was definitely him. He was back! He had returned! Her confusion and disbelief vanished and made room for overwhelming happiness. Wait… Happiness?_

'Happiness. Do you get it now? You missed him. You never admitted it or even paid any thought to it, but deep down you missed him.' The voice said, daring Ichigo to go against it, to start a discussion she would surely lose. She did disappoint it this time though. Instead of answering, she mulled everything over and over. Only to conclude what the voice had already pointed out: She had missed him unconsciously. It was strange, but true.

'What's this? No objections? No denial?' The voice asked expectantly. Was she mocking herself? She never knew she had such a twisted mind. Nonetheless, she answered: 'No, actually none of those. It's not weird that I missed him somewhere inside, I mean, fighting him was almost part of my daily routine for a year. Besides, missing and loving are two very different things.'

'I'm aware of that. Don't worry, we're getting there, but we don't have to hurry too much…' was all the reply Ichigo got before another memory popped up.

_She was hugging him. He had attacked Aoyama-kun mere moments ago and here she was, hugging him! It was wrong, not done, crazy and messed up. And yet it felt good. He had held her when she had been crying three days ago, so she felt like she could at least return the __favour. Not only that, but it just felt right. Why she felt that way, she had no idea, but she didn't care either, so it didn't matter at all._

_Truth be told, she craved for it. She didn't know how long they had stood there like that. Quite a while, she presumed, since she had had the time to really take him in from up close. How his hair had grown, how he himself had become an inch taller, how he had grown some more muscles too. While his hair was still worn in two piggy tails and he still wore the same kind of clothes, his appearance had underwent quite the metamorphosis. His face was less round. And when she pulled back slightly to take a better look at his face, she noticed his eyes still glistened like they used to, but they had somewhat hardened, as a result of whatever he had experienced. All in all, he was more… mature, masculine perhaps._

_Of course, this was all just his appearance. His attitude hadn't changed much, if it even changed at all, which she doubted._

_In the end it was him who broke the silence, using her nickname. "Koneko-chan?"_

_She was so lost in the moment that she indicated that she was listening with a small "Hmmm?" It must have failed to convince him, since he asked: "Can I ask you somethin'?" It sounded serious and that alone made Ichigo uncomfortable. "Sure…?" The nervousness was evident in her voice. She could see that it didn't come close to Kisshu's own nervousness though. 'What's wrong, Kish?' She couldn't get herself to speak those words, so she just anxiously awaited his question._

_"Can we be… friends?" "Friends?" she gasped. "Yeah, you know… Like… buddies.. Or pals or… comrades, companions or… whatever you call it." He said awkwardly. Her thoughts were running laps in her head. But eventually she got herself to answer him, albeit she felt a little awkward herself._

_"Uhmm… Yeah, sure… Why not? …I mean if you want to be, we could try and see…" At this point she was staring at her feet, unable to face him. She was glad they were now, without a doubt, friends, but somewhere, somehow, she wished they could be something more._

'Isn't this just sweet?' the voice commented. Ichigo was dumbstruck. The feelings that crept up all of sudden clouded her mind. The voice was once again right. Her heart. It was her heart telling her mind what she truly felt…

NO! She wasn't going to fall for this! She loved Masaya, Aoyama-kun was her one and only love and he would stay just that. Kisshu could walk to Hell for all she cared. He was a murderer. A liar. A… A…

'Without a doubt most intriguing alien who happens to be the object of your affection. And has been for quite a while already, if I may add.' The voice chimed in, much to Ichigo's dismay. 'Stop it!' 'Stop what?' 'Filling in my thoughts!' 'Ichigo, Ichigo.. I AM YOU. Of course I fill in your thoughts. It seems they don't call us stubborn and dense for nothing...' 'Ah, so now you're also the self-conscious part, that's just great!' If she had spoken out loud, Ichigo would have hissed that to herself.

It just couldn't get any better now, right? Kisshu still loved her AND she was developing a split personality, in other words, she was losing it. Wasn't that just the greatest combination of all time? 'Not to mention the self-pity. My, oh my.' How could this be a part of HER? She was nothing like this!

'What you keep on forgetting to take into account is the fact that I'm representing your raw feelings, rather than your rational thoughts. Balance me and 'yourself' out, and you'll get the Ichigo everyone knows and loves. Yes, I'm also representing your self-deprecation right now, to even your thinking out, because if you only had had your rational thinking, at the moment, you would be freaking out, because your thoughts can't comprehend your true feelings. Now, before a whole psychological speech about stuff we can't understand will be recited , I suggest we move on, because I feel that you, like I just said, are pretty much freaking out.'

' Yeah, show me what you want to show me, so this will be over and done with soon. A conversation with you is not good for my mood.' Ichigo snapped. 'Alright then.'

_They were outside, on her balcony, watching the stars together. As she looked at him from the corner of her eye, she saw that he was completely comfortable. Unlike her. She didn't understand what was up, but it made her feel so... weird. She knew he was the culprit, yet she didn't really blame him. It felt great, in a way. Like how she felt around Masaya._

_It struck her a few times that by admitting this she halfway declared that she loved him. Him. Kisshu. The number one guy that she was supposed to loathe for all the things that he pulled off. She knew that. But she couldn't bring herself to hate him. Especially not when he was standing beside her like he was now. Considering the circumstances, they were not supposed to be able to stand beside one another like this. With such a peaceful silence. It defied normality in uncountable different ways._

_This was another thing she realised, but couldn't act upon. The way they were around each other, so natural, was fascinating. How could one guy get her out of a terrifying situation and get her out of her shock in a matter of minutes. Minutes! What about him strengthened her enough to get over horrifying experiences at such a pace? She searched her brain for an answer, but she couldn't find it._

_Suddenly, he started talking. "Earth sure has a wondrous night sky. So many stars. No wonder humans invented things like constellations. Say, Ichigo, do you know any of the constellations? They sort of interest me, but I never dared to ask Pai, since that guy has the bad habit of wrapping what I actually want to know in a really complicated story." _

_For the first time since they started stargazing, Ichigo looked him in the eye. His eyes glistened cheerfully in the starlight, as if they themselves were light sources. In order to concentrate, Ichigo looked away, staring at the stars instead._

_She never had known much about constellations, but that didn't mean that she wouldn't do her best to tell him as much as she could remember. And so she told him everything she knew about the subject. It was the beginning of a conversation that would take quite a while, but Ichigo would never say that she hadn't enjoyed it thoroughly._

'Yes, we could hold a conversation when he was behaving more like a normal human, so what?' Ichigo felt like she was talking to a wall. This was supposed to make sense, right? Well, it did the exact opposite, for she never had been more confused. 'Come on! You're supposed to be the rational part! Put the pieces together! It's like an equation, is it not? Put all those feelings together, analyse the situation and then tell me: What does it mean?' The voice urged.

'Are you running out of 'evidence'?' Ichigo felt like laughing at the thought. She had to cling to her love for Masaya a little longer and the voice would lose. 'Anyway, you want new conclusion?When he had my friendship we had good conversations, until he turned out to be a murderer and a liar, who tricked me because he wanted me to like him, yet he also loved to be a troublemaker and to create chaos, that is my conclusion. Satisfied?'

It didn't even bother to answer her question. 'Again, you're supposed to be rational. Don't you see that it just doesn't fit? It doesn't make sense for him to return here just to create chaos and to kill. His reactions are weird too. Like when he found you in the exhibition hall. He was relieved to see us. Relieved! That's a weird feeling to have when you are out to kill and destroy, knowing that we would hate him for it. And there was no sign of a Chimera Animal. There never was. Plus, he claimed to have been set up himself. It's safe to say that he wasn't lying. And if he wasn't lying, he wasn't the murderer either.'

_"Ichigo, I know what it possibly looks like to you, but I had nothing to do with any of this!"_

_"Then why are you here, you filthy-" "I came to check up on you, OK?" "Lies! You probably don't give a cat's ass about me. It's all an act to get close to me, kill me and then conquer the world!" _

'Even you have to admit that those were barely thought-through assumptions you raved about.' 'Perhaps..' Ichigo knew that was indiscussible. She had fallen back into her Mew Mew-role without noticing and without realising what it was that she was shouting. Maybe he didn't lie at all. If he loved her, and she was pretty sure he did, it would not be strange at all that he came back just to make sure she was doing fine.

_"I died for you a year ago! For Kami's sake, Ichigo! I love you! I have since ages ago and I will keep on doing so until I die for real! How many times do I have to spell it out? I love you! I love you, I love you, I love you! I want to be with you every day, but since you have a boyfriend, I figured I could be your friend! Why would I throw that all away by going on a random killing spree, huh?" _

Why was her heart beating like crazy? Why were her insides tingling? And why did her breath hitch? Love. She loved him. She loved freaking Kisshu! It hit her. Like someone took a hammer to her head, smacking the realisation into her. It was then that it all seemed to come together inside of her too. There were no longer two parties fighting each other. She, Ichigo Momomiya, finally knew where her heart was. To whom it in truth belonged, even if she herself hadn't been willing to see.

Air. She needed air. Her thoughts seemed to collide and she knew she had to get out of this small detaining box. So she ran. Down the stairs, past the living room and kitchen, yelling a hurried 'I won't be long! Just a few minutes!' as she went and before she knew it, she was out the door, running down the street. She only stopped a couple of streets from her home, grabbing her hurting sides, but feeling the delightful fresh air rush into her lungs was like a soothing comfort.

The grey clouds that she hadn't even noticed grew darker. After standing there a minute or two, Ichigo felt the first raindrops on her skin. But she didn't care. All she cared for right now was the fresh air. And him. She had to find him. She had to apologize.

"Kisshu!" She began moving again, hoping he would be somewhere around there. "Kish! Where are you? Ki-" With a start, she stopped dead in her tracks. What was she doing? What about Masaya? She couldn't just run to Kish now. Even calling for him meant betraying Masaya. And Masaya needed her right now.

'What am I doing? I've got a boyfriend! I can't just leave him this, it'd be cruel. I must not forget about his feelings. Even though I know I don't wholeheartedly belong to him anymore and he deserves someone who does... I can't dump him. What would he think of me? What would everyone think of me if I suddenly go after an alien who is supposed to have killed people, injured people? They'd say I've gone nuts!'

As the rain soaked her clothes, she turned around, knowing that she should head home. However, her legs refused to move. She was nailed to the spot, because she felt it now. His presence. How could she not have known or even suspected it? Of course he watched her! Of course he still followed her around when the opportunity presented itself. Even if it didn't, he would. She should've understood by now that he just couldn't leave her alone.

Kisshu. What was he up to? He would prove his innocence, he had said so himself. How? She didn't know and she probably never would, but she already knew that he would. Once that guy's got a goal, a purpose, once he was motivated and determined, he would come up with a plan. And once he's got a plan, there was no doubt that he would succeed. That was what she believed. She trusted him, relied on him to come and get her with a cleaned name. Yes, she would wait for him to do so.

She looked in all directions. He was here still. What for? Wouldn't he just show up again? '_I promise you that I will return to you once I can prove that I'm innocent of all that you have accused me of. Until then, Ichigo.' _No, he wouldn't dare to show his face. In all probability, he still thought she didn't want to see him. Besides, there's no way that he could've found all the evidence of his innocence already, four days after the whole event.

But maybe, just maybe...

"Kish..." She whispered, focussing on any sound other than the rain. "I believe you are innocent. Really, I do. Just... prove it to me. I'll be waiting for you, because..." She licked her lips nervously, closed her eyes and took a deep breath before throwing it out there. "Because I love you. Though you probably understand that we can't be together..." 'Yet..' She added hopefully. "I'm sorry!" she shouted to the rain, before running off to the warmth and comfort of her home. And her bed.

If she had stayed a little longer, she would've heard a voice soft and sad, whisper a reply: "Not as sorry as I am..."

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><p>She had fallen asleep faster than she thought she would. And she was there again. In the clearing. With the fireflies. This time she was fully aware of the fact that it was a dream. The clearing was not real, the fireflies were not real, the moon was not real. More importantly: He wasn't real. But it didn't matter, she didn't really care. She decided to enjoy it while it lasted. Knowing that it wasn't real didn't make the experience, anything less than magical.<p>

This was the beauty of dreams. They let experience the most out of the world things. They let you go to places that aren't real. They let you meet people that aren't real. They let you do things you will never be able to do in reality. They are everyone's personal escape of reality. Reality binds you, keeps you to the ground, while dreams set you free, giving you the ability to fly. And right then, Ichigo wanted nothing more than to fly. To escape the binding reality. She didn't want to face it. She wanted to be free of it all.

And so she dreamt. Of flying in the starlight. Of the full moon. Of dancing among fireflies. Of him. She imagined a place for them. A world were they could stay. Until it could become reality. She would wait and in her dreams they would meet. Until he could come to her in reality. Until then, she would dream.

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><p><strong>A.N. Yay! Another chapter, finished! Really, I'm glad this part is over. Ichigo's continuous denial got on my nerves. Then again, when it clicked, it clicked entirely! =D By the way, what did you think of Kisshu's presence. He was not supposed to be there, but well... Let's just say Kisshu is not Kisshu for nothing... XD<strong>

**I hope you liked it. Please leave some lovely reviews! I really appreciate them, even though I never answer them! (I know very bad, I should, but I'm too busy writing!) I'm really slow, so please don't blame me too much.**

**Until next time! ^^**

**P.S. Please help me write this story by letting me know if you've found any grammar or spelling or whatever errors. Thank you in advance!**

**_Edit: Review or/and continue!_  
><strong>


	18. Bittersweet Love

**A.N. Ichigo's mind is reduced to a mess of thoughts and feelings.**

**Meanwhile, what is Kisshu up to? **

**Do I make it sound like a soap? Yes, I do.**

**Enjoy the chapter!**

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><p>Kisshu couldn't help himself. He had to see her, even if it was for just a moment or two. So he teleported himself to her home. He took place in the tree that he had practically claimed to be his only and watched her through the window. She was doing her homework. She always did her homework after dinner, so it was no surprise, really.<p>

To anyone other than Kisshu it would be utterly boring to watch, but he thought it was quite fascinating. The way she frowned while she concentrated, the manner in which she held her pencil and how she moved it over the paper while she wrote. It were those little things that made homework time interesting. At least to Kisshu.

She did catch him by surprise though when, out of blue, she dropped her pencil and her expression changed from concentrated to an empty one as if she were in thought.

Then, for a whole while, she remained completely still. The only thing that kept changing was her facial expression. Confusion, anger, sadness, more confusion. It was mainly confusion. Kisshu was watching her closely, yet he couldn't get what was going on. It was agitating, but if he showed up now, Ichigo would surely not be very pleased. No, she wouldn't be pleased at all.

So, since he didn't have much of a choice, he stayed were he was, analysing her at the best of his ability. There was little to no result. She began shaking, her eyes wide with confusion. What the hell was going on? 'This looks bad… Ichigo, what are you thinking?' Worry began to invade Kisshu's mind at the speed of light.

He itched to go in and comfort her. Like he did when he visited her for the first time in a year, a little over a week ago. It seemed so unreal. So much had happened since then. He got on Ichigo's good side and then was sent back to the bad side in a matter of what? Six days? And he had yet to find out what jerk had ruined his chances at even a platonic relationship with Ichigo.

At the moment, it was the least of him worries though. Ichigo stopped shaking after a minute, an epiphany seemed to light up her face and it must have been a shocking one, because shock was written all over her face. After a moment, the feelings clearly reduced, as they slipped off her face. And she sighed.

Kisshu sat up with a start, not expecting the sound. 'Talking about unexpected… Ichigo, you are one hell of a peculiar kitty.' he thought to himself, a small, barely noticeable smile slowly growing on his face. It was not his infamous grin though. It was one of those smiles even Kisshu himself noticed. Smiles of amusement, bitterness, or just blissful happiness. The latter being a very rare sight on it's own, noticed or not.

Meanwhile, Ichigo looked like she was growing more and more agitated every passing second. Just when Kisshu thought she might just actually explode, she deflated entirely. All expression was once again washed off her face, the only exception being the day-dreamlike stare into nothing, which she had had a few times before now. Was she just randomly daydreaming or remembering something?

From her dreamy state she turned thoughtful. It really was strange. The more Kisshu tried to understand, the less he truly understood. It was annoying. He was entirely trapped. He couldn't just kick down the door and ask her, but he didn't really get much out of his observation. So what was he to do? At times like this, Kisshu wished he could've developed some sort of mind-reading ability.

Not that he would trade any of his abilities for it. It might be a strange confession, but Kisshu was quite fond of the fact that he could fly, teleport, breath nearly everywhere, fight with weapons he could summon and create Chimera Animals, thank you very much. He wouldn't trade it for anything-well, except Ichigo. But back to the topic.

Ichigo was still there. Still sitting in the same room, the same chair. She hadn't even moved in her chair. All that gave away that she was still alive were her heartbeat, breathing and change of expressions. Had Kisshu not been able to notice these three things, he might as well have doubted whether she was still alive, for she didn't move, didn't make a sound.

After seeing Ichigo's face twist in all sorts of expressions at once, Kisshu gave up. Every moment he watched her, he got more confused. So in order to clear his mind, he sat back, leaning against the base of his tree and closed his eyes for a couple of minutes. He just had to relax, lay back and wait for her to do something that he could use to figure her out…

A few minutes later, his wait was being rewarded. She abruptly stood up, not noticing the chair that fell over, and ran out. Just like that. She yelled something at her parents and only seconds later, the front door slammed shut and she sprinted off to who knows where. 'Better safe than sorry, as they say here, I suppose..' Kisshu thought, before he followed her, using a great deal of energy to do it as inconspicuously as possible.

She stopped suddenly, gripping her sides in pain. She had been running too fast for her own good. Silly little cat. While catching her breath, she stood there for a few minutes. Her clothes were getting wet from the rain that started to fall. What was this girl up to? Why didn't she just go home, where she was supposed to be right now?

"Kisshu!" His breath got stuck in his throat. What? "Kish! Where are you? Ki-" She halted again in the middle of her speech. Had she gone nuts? Or did it get through to her what the hell she was doing? Had she seen through him? He didn't know. She looked deep in thought once again- Hell, why was she thinking so much tonight?- before she looked around.

For an instant, Kisshu thought she had found him, but her gaze moved on from the tree that he used as cover and she looked down, at her feet, looking more let down than he had ever witnessed. The rain had thoroughly soaked the poor girl, but if she had even realised it in the first place, she didn't show it. She was silent and the silence was killing Kisshu. He didn't get it, he just didn't get it! What was going through that girl's mind?

"Kish…" She whispered, again out of nowhere. Kisshu was getting used to it, so he remained perfectly still, because her alert stance told him that she was waiting for a sound, a sign that he was there. Luckily, the rain that was now clattering on the pavement was his protective sound wall. If he made very little sound, the girl would, even though she had a cat's hearing abilities, not be able to pick it up. Had the rain not been there, Kisshu feared that even just his breathing would have given him away.

"I believe you are innocent. Really, I do. Just... prove it to me. I'll be waiting for you, because..." He couldn't believe his ears. The rain was playing tricks on him for sure! His ears perked up and his eyes concentrated on her lips. If she truly had said what he thought she had said, she would now give him the reason for her to trust him. Was it their friendship that, regardless of how short it was, left a mark?

She licked her lips nervously. Her whole pose screamed nervousness. 'What's the matter, Ichigo? Come on, spit it out…' Worry started seeping into the forefront of his mind, but he pushed it down. He had to hear what she had to say. She would be waiting for him… No! Save it for later! Listen! Listen carefully!

"Because I love you. Though you probably understand that we can't be together…" She… No..! Yes! She loved him! This was real, right? Or was this one of his better dreams? She loved him! His heart stopped, his breath had evaporated and his mind was going mad.. She finally understood! And she loved him! Him! Kisshu pinched himself to make sure he was wide awake.

It hurt. So either he was awake and it was really happening or he had finally completely lost it. He preferred to believe the former. Then his rational mind had to spoil the moment by concentrating on the last sentence. 'Though you probably understand that we can't be together…' Sadness invaded the happy thoughts. Still… Still she couldn't be his.

"I'm sorry!" she shouted and before he had the chance to do anything, she ran off again. This time she headed towards home… She couldn't be his. It hurt. 'At least, she is sorry.' He thought with bitter sadness. "Not as sorry as I am…"

Just in case, he followed her home, but he was too busy thinking her words over, so he was not as well-concealed as he ought to be. But Ichigo was too out of it to notice it and Masha was still locked away in a drawer, so he stayed unnoticed, to most.

Once Ichigo was inside, Kisshu made himself comfortable in his tree again. He was soaked, but it didn't really bother him. The tree was a good shelter, not that it mattered much anymore, but still. As he watched Ichigo finish her homework and go to bed, he kept on repeating her words in her mind, as if it would somehow change their meaning. He knew it wouldn't.

'Don't worry, Ichigo. I'll come for you, as long as you wait for me, I'll come…'

His peace was destroyed too soon, by a presence that stayed out of his peripheral vision, but he heard nonetheless. He slowly got up, reading himself for whatever was coming. The longer he stayed, the better got his impression of his opponent. He wouldn't be able to handle whoever it was right now. He was too out of it and he was tired. No, he was in no shape to fight.

Whoever the bastard was that was after him, he was clever. This fact alone was enough for Kisshu to assume that the one on the ground below him, circling around him at a distance at that moment, silent, invisible, but noticeable, was the same person that set him up, that ruined everything. Kisshu felt like fighting him, but he knew he couldn't. He had to get out of there.

There probably was no point in leading him away from Ichigo, but not wanting to take any risk, since his knowledge of his enemy was limited and there still was a small chance that Ichigo was not as involved as she seemed, Kisshu decided not to teleport on the spot. He had to get away from her, far away. Maybe his enemy would be occupied with Kisshu's ties to the place that he would use to teleport from. That would give him some time for his own investigation.

At this point, it was all pure speculation and a hell a lot of luck that had to do it, but he barely had anything to loose anyway. As long as Ichigo, Taruto and Pai were left unharmed, he had nothing to fear. So, he began to move, putting his rash, unlikely-to-have-the-wished-effect-plan into action. He began slowly: step, pause, step, pause, step… To the end of the branch.

The enemy responded to his movement by continuing to circle around him on ground level, but gradually closing in. 'Like a game of chess..' Kisshu mused, a grin forming on his face. It was dark, so the enemy probably didn't see it. And if he did, he still remained silent, not giving his identity away. He made good use of the shadows. Even Kisshu, with his night vision, couldn't see any of his features.

All he could see flashing in and out of view was a hooded figure. It was impossible to tell what it was. It could've been a human, though a very fast one, or an alien. Hell, he wasn't even sure whether the opponent was male or female! It was becoming frustrating. Ah! He reached the end of the branch. The movements of the figure stayed the same.

So Kisshu jumped and took off at high speed. He flew high enough to not be bothered by the roofs of the homes of the many inhabitants of Tokyo. However, he stayed underneath the clouds, the rain pouring down on him, drenching him. Oh well, he was soaked anyway. The point was that whether this hooded guy was an alien or not, he would be able to follow him. Perhaps with difficulty, but he -or she- could.

Kisshu was surprised by the fact that nothing was thrown or shot at him. He had expected arrows, bullets, whatever. But he was free to move as he pleased. Knowing that the bastard probably had some information on his history, Kisshu decided that his hiding place had to be one of his former battlegrounds, which would not directly be connected to Ichigo. He made up his mind in a matter of seconds.

The television tower, with its studios which were used daily for the local news and several other shows. The place were he'd attempted to finish the wolf girl before she could join the Mews in the fight. The Mews had made their first appearance on TV that day. Anyway, it was a general place, with lots of people going in and going out, on the other side of Tokyo -far away from Ichigo-, and he was vaguely related to it. It was perfect.

He flew towards it in a straight line, not caring enough to be secretive about his destination, looking down every so often to see if his pursuer was still on the right track. Kisshu noted that this person preferred the 'normal' roads to roofs or walls. Very… human. Something to keep in mind.

He had to admit that it started to get on his nerves that he was in no way hindered by the mysterious figure metres below him. He was used to getting things thrown at him every free moment, so he suspected it any time and every second of silence and peace was annoyingly long. Maybe his pursuer was aware of it and using it against him. 'Bitch…' Kisshu thought, calming himself by taking a deep breath of air.

His concentration never faltered and he was very relieved when he finally arrived at the tower. He flew up to an open window on the fifth floor. There was no way for the hooded guy to know what he was doing now. But, not forgetting Pai's constant lectures on caution, Kisshu opened a few drawers in the office that he had entered and he silently moved into the hallway. At this time, it was deserted.

The few late night workers were elsewhere, which was good. Another good thing was that there were no surveillance camera's in this hallway and offices, making it untraceable what he was doing up here. Well, he would leave some 'clues' behind, but that was just a set-up, so that didn't really count.

After going through some random drawers and lockers in other offices on the fifth floor, Kisshu decided that he would be leaving a good deal of a mess behind. It was good enough. He had even bothered to close some drawers and such again, as if he had attempted to obscure the fact that he had 'stolen' some documents. Given, he had some papers in his hands that he would take with him, just for the good measure, but even he had to admit that this was hardly a robbery.

Not that he cared, as long as that hooded whoever-it-was fell for it and was kept busy for a while.

With that hope in mind, he teleported himself to his 'home'. Well, if you even could call it a home at all. It's were he slept and ate, that was all he could really say about it. To his big surprise, both his friends were there already.

And in all honesty… Taruto scared the shit out of Kisshu. He just sat there, cross-legged, his leg supporting his arm, his hand supporting his face, looking into the distance as if it was the most beautiful thing had ever seen in his short life.

Kisshu threw the papers he still held in his hands in the 'trash bin'. Though a small fireplace was a more fitting description. As soon as the papers touched the flames, they flared up and all the paper was gone. Wiped out of existence, really.

Getting over the shock of seeing Taruto sit there in the manner that he did, Kisshu figured that after all the serious business he had taken care of, he had the right to tease his little friend… a little. But in order to do so, he needed the midget's attention. So he waved his hand in front of the younger alien's face while calling out:

"Yo, Taruto! Whaddaya doin'? Fantasizing about your cute monkey girl, huh?" This immediately brought Taruto down to Earth's atmosphere. And he was blushing like mad barely half a second later. Once he had found his voice again he yelled back, angered by being pulled out of his… daydreams: "Whadda you think you're doin', stupid idiot? Go bother Pai insteada me! And I wasn't fantasizing abou' Pudding, pervert! I don't need ta! We kissed already! Whadabout you and your catgirl? Not so lucky, huh?"

Kisshu merely grinned broadly in response, not letting the last comment get to him. 'Well, this is very interesting. The little kid's growing up.' He decided to go looking for Pai. Maybe he made some 'improvement' too. "Yeah, run off again, bein' all secretive! I don't care anyway!" Taruto yelled after him and Kisshu laughed out loud before teleporting to the place where he'd probably find Pai: Pai's -not so- private laboratory.

And, as expected, there he was indeed, bowed over some soil samples. How boring. As silently as possible, Kisshu moved behind him, hoping to, for once, scare the hell out of Pai. He readied himself to grab his shoulders, when a monotone voice crushed the tension-filled silence: "Why did you come here, Kisshu?"

Kisshu lowered his hands again and pouted. "Aw , c'mon! What does a man hafta do to scare you, Pai?" Pai turned his head to look Kisshu in the eye. "I see no man." Kisshu's pout remained. Pai sighed and turned back to his work, before speaking again. "You didn't answer my question." Kisshu gave up on the pouting and started to lean against a table behind him. "I was just wondering… How's it going between you and the fish girl? What was her name again? Medoriwaka.. Midori.. Midoriuegu-"

"Retasu." "What?" Pai abandoned his work again and fully turned to Kisshu, his face stone cold. "Her name. Her name is Midorikawa Retasu. But you know that all too well. You're testing me." Kisshu only grinned. "So, you've got something with her already or not?" Pai's face turned dark and hard, harder than usual. "No." Kisshu shrugged. "Pity. You really should do something, ya know. If you wait to long, that blond guy's gonna get her."

Pai's eyes widened slightly. "What are you saying..?" Kisshu rolled his eyes at him. "Don't be a fool, Pai. Everyone knows he's got a thing for her, just like you do -stop denying it, it's obvious- and really, if you don't make your move soon, he will. And I know you're not familiar with love and such, but if you wait and he steals her away, trust me, I've been there, you're gonna feel like shit." Pai only stared at him, not looking like he wanted to say anything, so Kisshu continued, with a small smile.

"She feels it too, Pai. But even those who lay their eyes on her once can tell that she'll never make the first move. Show her some affection and do it soon. I know it's very difficult for you, but in this game it's all about feelings and you either win or lose. No compromise, no scientific solution. Just try it, Pai, I can promise you, you won't regret it."

Pai still did nothing but stare at him. They stood there for a while, staring each other down. Then, very out of character, Pai audibly sighed and in one tiny moment, Kisshu could see it there, right on his face. Desperation. Even Pai himself knew it now. He was in uncommon territory, but he had to win.

Kisshu nodded and began to walk out of the room. As he placed his hand on the door handle, he heard Pai call after him.

"Kisshu!"

Smiling a little, he turned around, his hand still on the handle. "Yeah?"

Pai looked at his feet for a moment before he looked up and with the same monotone voice as always he asked:

"Do you really think she likes me over Shirogane Ryou?"

Kisshu looked at Pai in disbelief. Never had he heard Pai express this much inconfidence. Or ask such an out-of-character question. 'My, my, this Retasu really is something, isn't she?'

He looked Pai in the eye again. "I don't think so…" Shock was plastered on Pai's face. Grinning, Kisshu turned to the door again and opened it. As he walked out, he turned his head, looking over his shoulder, while stating loud and clear:

"I know it."

The door slammed shut behind him. Good. He had done his job here. It was all up to Pai now.

Smiling to himself, he walked down the corridor.

'And now, I'm gonna go to the kitchen, 'cause I'm hungry like hell!'

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><p><strong>A.N. I personally really like this one! ^^ I hope you all like it just as much as I do. Also, this is the longest chapter so far... 3669 words! Sorry, but I'm very glad that my chapters are getting longer, because I personally love long chapters when it comes to reading! XD<strong>

**Anyway, review please! Even if it's just to tell me that it's crap, I love each review, because it's a sign that people read my story (and every review so far has been quite to very positive, so I can conclude that those who read it, do it with pleasure, right?)**

**Until next time!**

**_Edit: Review or/and continue!_**


	19. Quiet Night

**A.N. This chapter is dedicated to Pai X Lettuce/Retasu. If you don't like the pairing, skip the chapter.**

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><p>He had stared at the soil samples for over an hour now, without actually seeing them. No, he, Pai, wasn't dozing off. He was just preoccupied with more significant business. Her. And the strange feelings she instigated. Midorikawa Retasu. The girl that had been haunting him for longer than he could remember. He had long since given up on counting and categorizing the days. He couldn't tell at what speed the feelings had developed.<p>

He didn't know when she had stopped interesting him and had begun to haunt him everywhere he went. He had never been a man of feeling, so he wouldn't know. It just happened to him. He had tried to deny it at the best of his abilities, but he couldn't fool his own brain. Kisshu didn't buy it either. Pai suspected that his ally had some answers for him on the this subject, yet his pride didn't allow him to ask the younger alien anything.

He couldn't ask him why a girl he had at first thought of as interesting, suddenly became so much more. More than his logical brain could grasp. It was ridiculous. In the beginning, he had been mildly interested in her, because of her unwillingness to fight and yet her determination in battle. It was no less than intriguing. It was a mystery he had yet to solve. At least, that's what it was in the beginning.

As time passed and he observed her, the interest grew and, much to Pai's shame, his observation grew out to be more of an obsession. He had to know more about her. More of this riddle, this… enigma that was Midorikawa Retasu. He gave the saying 'keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer' a different meaning.

He started to follow her secretly regularly, making sure no-one was aware of it. In no time, he knew her daily schedule by heart. He knew the general things about her family, he knew of her hobby, the doll-making, the three girls she hung out with at school -well, she was more of a slave than an ally to them-, her marks at school and, of course, he knew of her passion for books.

He remembered feeling glad to some extent, when he found out that she had in fact an intellect that came close to paralleling his own, that she showed the same tidiness when it came to working and that she too had an interest for reading and acquiring new information. All together, he was surprised to find that they had quite some common ground.

His interest grew and slowly but surely, he began to feel the need to actually talk with her. It was very rare in general and again Pai had been surprised. That's when he should have quitted whatever he had been doing that involved specifically her when he still could. He didn't know what he was getting into, so he didn't, however after a lot of reflecting in his room, when he was at his home planet, he concluded that that had been the point from which on he couldn't turn back.

From that point on, it went from bad to worse. He couldn't fight her properly anymore. Every time, he had to sneak a glance at her, if possible more than once. He even put a plan into effect before he had thought it through. There had been no details, just a basic sketch, an idea. Never in his life had Pai done something that unprepared, had he been this rash.

He had attacked the library she always visited. Because of a guy. He had always told everyone, including Deep Blue, that it was an action undertaken in order to get an impression of the intelligence of the humans and of their knowledge.

Bollocks. Utter, complete nonsense. He just wanted to subtly scare the guy off. Away from her. Every swine could see she felt attracted to him. Just because Pai himself had never felt many emotions didn't mean he didn't recognise them.

But sometimes he wished he had never understood the look she gave that other guy. He couldn't take it. For reasons unknown to him back then, he wanted the guy to vanish. He didn't care whether he lived or not, he just had to be gone. Somehow, he knew it would relieve the sting he felt close to his heart -jealousy it was, he realised later.

Pai pushed the thoughts away. No-one could ever find out he had ever done something like that in such a way.

Had she known? Had she seen through it? Or did she believe his explanation? He was pretty sure that it was the latter. She was too insecure, thought to little of herself to ever understand his motive. Luckily. He had never planned on acting upon these unfamiliar feelings. She didn't feel the same way, so whatever he did to show what he truly felt, it would make him look like a fool. It was a useless case. A useless… love.

There, he thought it. He faced it. This was the part were the 'moving on' began, was it not? He could communicate with her, but they would be acquaintances. Maybe, someday, if she would permit it, they could be allies. Friends. That's all he could wish for at the moment. He was a person who merely felt anything, who hardly could express a feeling, even if he wanted to. He wasn't made for love. Never was, never would be. It was a fact.

A fact he clung to, for it was the only certain thing he had in this case. And he needed certainties. They were reliable. Unlike feelings, facts wouldn't change and betray you.

…He heard a pair of feet carefully land on the floor. Someone had come in. He didn't feel like communicating with either Kisshu or Taruto, so he kept his gaze on his soil samples, hoping that whoever it was would get the hint and leave. Sadly, the presence stayed in the room, not getting the hint.

Pai felt a wave of annoyance rolling over him, but it quickly subsided. Those who had lived with Kisshu and Taruto as long as he had, would have reacted the same. Like him, they would have long since discovered that showing annoyance would be of no use.

At first, he had been able to keep them quiet with only a glare. He assumed they had felt some awe towards him. They had perhaps feared him a bit. But after a while, when they became more familiar with him, it became significantly more difficult to shut them up. By now, all he could do is let them do their talking, hoping for it to be over soon and if they didn't leave by themselves, he would just ignore them.

Whoever it was, was now silently making his way towards him, probably hoping to startle him. The footsteps were light, nearly inaudible and cautious. Even when he tried, Taruto couldn't manage to be that quiet. Kisshu, however, could manage it. So it was Kisshu. Pai had to admit that he was curious as to why the boy had come to visit him. Lately, he hadn't been in the spaceship a lot.

Kisshu was right behind him now, oblivious to the fact that Pai completely saw through his entire plan from the very beginning. Pai could practically feel his hands hover above his shoulders. But he was in no mood for a surprise attack, so he cut the prank short.

"Why did you come here, Kisshu?" He could sense Kisshu's entire posture deflate and move away. But he didn't refrain from answering immediately, albeit in a disappointed voice: "Aw , c'mon! What does a man hafta do to scare you, Pai?" That was a voice Pai would recognise anywhere. If Pai had had any doubt about who it was that interrupted his reveries, the reply would have crushed it instantly.

Nonetheless, Pai felt annoyed by the fact that the other alien chose this moment to fool around with him. So, instead of immediately getting to the exact point as usual, he turned his head slightly to look at Kisshu's, as to be expected, pouting face, in his eyes, before responding: "I see no man."

Kisshu didn't answer, he just continued pouting. Pai sighed and tried to focus on his work again. He couldn't help but urge the younger one to give him the reason for the his visit. "You didn't answer my question."

Kisshu made himself comfortable behind him, leaning against one of his tables, before he answered: "I was just wondering… How's it going between you and the fish girl? What was her name again? Medoriwaka.."

He was testing him and he didn't even bother to conceal it. He knew too well how to get Pai on the edge. Which was intolerable and had to be taken care off. Pai was not going to bite, he was going to remain silent… "Midori.. Midoriuegu-" 'Enough.'

"Retasu." Pai wanted to bang his head against a wall. He had snapped, again. "What?" And Kisshu was rubbing his victory into Pai's face… Again. Annoyance got the better of him, so Pai turned around to face his bothersome companion. He already lost, so he could as well go all-out.

"Her name. Her name is Midorikawa Retasu. But you know that all too well. You're testing me." Kisshu had the nerve to grin at his words. The insolence. "So, you've got something with her or not?" Pai felt that his insides were starting to boil in anger. Why was it that the boy had to torment him, using HER? The one thing he really couldn't handle.

"No." He said loud and clear, hoping that the other alien would leave or at least leave the topic, because Pai knew what kind of anger he felt. He was angry because they long since left his comfort zone. And Pai was very fond of his own comfort zone.

But the other alien cheerfully continued, shrugging his cold, harsh and short reply off . "Pity, you really should do something, ya know? If you wait too long, that blond guy's gonna get her."

The last statement took Pai entirely by surprise. Blond guy? Shirogane Ryou? He couldn't contain himself. "What are you saying..?" This question earned him an eye-roll from Kisshu.

But Kisshu replied still, though in a tone that screamed 'Isn't it obvious?' "Don't be a fool, Pai. Everyone knows he's got a thing for her, just like you do -stop denying it, it's obvious- and really, if you don't make your move soon, he will." Skimming through all of the memories he had of Retasu and Ryou when the two crossed paths, Pai understood why everyone, even Kisshu, knew. How could he not have seen it earlier?

Kisshu continued, but with a more gentle, understanding tone, which made Pai wonder when exactly Kisshu had started to care about his (love)life. "And I know you're not familiar with love and such, but if you wait and he steals her away, trust me, I've been there, you're gonna feel like shit." Pai let it sink in. Kisshu apparently took his silence as a sign of encouragement, because he continued with a friendly smile on his face.

"She feels it too, Pai. But even those who lay their eyes on her once can tell that she'll never make the first move. Show her some affection and do it soon. I know it's very difficult for you, but in this game it's all about feelings and you either win or lose. No compromise, no scientific solution. Just try it, Pai, I can promise you, you won't regret it."

Pai stared at him, unmoving, while his thoughts raced and ricocheted in his head.

He was saying that he should try flirting with Retasu? Did he have any idea of who he was talking to? Had he forgotten who he, Pai, was? It was absurd, out of the question. Even if he tried, he knew she would never like him that way. She was too… too.. Emotional for a cold guy like him. She needed support, warm and gentle strength, things he didn't possess, things he couldn't offer her.

And yet… He wished he could. He wished he possessed the qualities she needed, wished he could be to her what she was to him. But he didn't have the courage to show his affections and attempt to flirt with her, for if he failed he would look foolish and she would probably forever avoid him like the plague. And that would consequently lead her into the awaiting arms of Shirogane Ryou.

But did he even have a choice at all? If he remained silent and did nothing, she would fall in love with Shirogane Ryou, when the guy finally told her about his feelings, and that would in all probability hurt him in such a manner that he would do something stupid, which would give Shirogane Ryou the opportunity to persuade Retasu to abandon him. So the final outcome would be nearly the same.

No matter how much he stretched and turned the facts, he practically had no choice, if he wanted her as bad as he had already concluded he wanted her as his own. When had he become so emotional and possessive? Immediately it became evident that that was a stupid question.

When she became part of his world. That's when. From the moment that he first laid his eyes on her, Mew Lettuce, Midorikawa Retasu, he had been doomed.

Slowly all of his beliefs, his values had seeped away, because of her.

He really had no choice then, did he? Even if he had no idea how to, he had to, as Kisshu put it, make her his. For a moment, he felt like laughing. Never in his life had he expected to end up in the same situation as Kisshu. Yet here they were. And he was taking advise from him.

He severed his eye-contact with Kisshu for a moment and sighed and for a moment desperation washed over him. No science, just feelings… How was he going to do that? There was no way he could manage that. As he looked up, Kisshu gave him a nod that said: 'You'll be fine. I know you can do it!' And then, just like that, he turned around and began to make his leave. What a companion he was, that Kisshu.

Insecurity made it's way through Pai's being and for one moment, all his dignity and posture was gone and he called after his companion.

"Kisshu!"

Kisshu smiled while he turned around, his hand already on the door handle. "Yeah?" 'Bastard..' Pai thought, looking at his feet, wondering how to formulate his question. He settled on, unlike him, just plainly throwing it out there.

"Do you really think she likes me over Shirogane Ryou?"

The smile fell off Kisshu's faced in an instant. He absolutely hadn't seen this question coming. Not that that was surprising. Pai would scold himself later for saying too much. But right now, he focused on Kisshu's answer to his dead-simple question.

Kisshu met his expectant eyes and said: "I don't think so…" Pai felt his face twist in shock. If Kisshu knew he was going to fail, why was he encouraging him to do anything at all?

Grinning, Kisshu walked out, but in the doorpost he looked behind him and nonchalantly added: "I know it." After that, the door slammed shut. Pai calmed down his heartbeat, not even having noticed when it started to begin with. That bastard! Was he on purpose trying to make his life more confusing than it already was?

After carefully pulling himself together, Pai decided that the soil examples could be looked at at another time and that he now had a more important subject to observe. With that in mind, he teleported to a human household he had visited too often lately.

Of course, the mentioned household is none other than the Midorikawa residence. In fact, he had been there before so often that it was as easy as breathing to also immediately teleport into the exact room he wanted to be in. Midorikawa Retasu's bedroom.

He was 97.5% certain that she was fast asleep now, so she wouldn't even know he had been there. Retasu never stayed up late, unless there was a very special occasion. Also, her parents checked on her sometimes and since she didn't want to go against her parents in any way, she always made sure that even when she couldn't sleep and therefore stayed awake, she always had her lights off.

So, Pai felt confident enough to conclude, that even if she were to be awake still, of which the chances very slim, she wouldn't be able to see him all the same, because he happened to know that even with glasses on, her night vision was very poor. To add to that, just like ever other normal human being, she took off her glasses when she went to bed.

All these facts, plus the fact that Pai had paid her visits like this many times before, made his usual caution wear off long ago. Not even once had anybody even suspected that this was how he wasted nights away, since he had returned to Earth. Just watching her, observing her while she was in an unconscious state.

This was sure to become one of those nights again. It was all as he had predicted. Quiet, dark, asleep. The whole house was entirely still. Even her parents had already gone to bed. Well, to adult human standards they usually went to bed rather early. Pai didn't mind it one bit.

He liked the silence. The comforting blanket of silent darkness. It was his ideal escape. The place he could turn to when he wanted to think clearly. Slowly, he had begun to see the sleeping home of the Midorikawa-family as his personal domain.

But no-one would ever know. He wouldn't allow it. He was not the type of person to bond with anything, let alone a house that was in every way you looked at it, not his. At this point, his thoughts were led back to the girl that was lying in the bed only seven foot away from him.

Returning to the present time and place, he realised that he had been staring at her all the time. This observation didn't surprise him anymore. It had happened so many times before.

Her curtains were ajar, making the light of the streetlights, the stars and the first quarter-moon fill a small part of the room. The light softly fell on her features and Pai just continued staring. He couldn't refrain from doing so. Somewhere deep down, he felt disgusted. He seriously started to take after Kisshu too much.

Because he was too warped up in his thoughts about how he should become less Kisshu-like, Pai didn't notice the green eyes that were slowly opening, looking directly his way.

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><p>Retasu was waking up, for no reason at all, perhaps you could call it faith or just coincidence, and thanks to the light that came in through her window and the fact that Pai was almost standing entirely in said light, as if it were his spotlight, she could make out his silhouette and recognise him.<p>

At first, she was all drowsy, thinking it was merely her imagination. It was an illusion and as soon as she blinked, he would be gone again. The real Pai would never, ever come into her room without permission, let alone at this hour, when she was supposed to be asleep. Even when not fully awake, Retasu was rational enough to realise this.

She stared at him, but he didn't react in any way, like he wasn't even aware of her existence. That proved it. The real Pai, whatever the situation was, sensed and knew everything that was going on in his surroundings. He couldn't possible be spied on by anyone without him being aware, let alone her, Midorikawa Retasu.

So she blinked. He was still there. She blinked again. Still there. She furiously blinked for a few seconds. Still he stood there, unmoving like a statue.

Maybe she didn't wake up after all. She was not seeing things, she was dreaming them. But, if this all was a dream, why couldn't she enjoy it while it lasted? It was her own dream after all.

And she dearly loved to have a conversation with Pai, though she would never dare to actually tell him that. He would blankly look her in the eye and eventually ask why she thought it relevant to tell him. Yes, that sounded like something Pai would say.

Being shy, even when she dreamt, she quietly called out: "Pai-san?" Now the statue stiffened and dark, calculating and yet glistening eyes looked down at her, mild surprise sparkling in them before they dulled a bit, falling back into something that was best described as emotionless.

Apart from that he stayed completely still, like he hoped that if he just didn't answer her, she would forget his presence altogether. She wasn't about to, though. "Pai-san… What are you doing here, if I may ask?"

Apparently he understood that his original plan wouldn't work, since he abandoned it and answered her in a monotone way, like only Pai could: "Goodnight, Midorikawa-san. I am here to.. Observe humans in their common state of unconsciousness called sleep. It has been fascinating me."

Ah. Even in her dreams, he was learning through observation. Very fitting. The real Pai didn't seem to do much besides doing the things he had to do to survive, she wasn't sure what those things were exactly, but she guessed his primary needs were roughly the same as hers, and gaining knowledge by the means of either observation and experimentation.

Curiosity was getting the best of her, so she decided to ask. "Any findings so far, Pai-san? Maybe I could provide you with useful information?" Pai's right pointing-finger lightly tapped his right thumb for a second.

It was a tiny sign that told her that he had difficulty to formulate something discreetly, so he was either doubting if she would understand what he said if he just told her the way it sprung into his mind or he was carefully making up a cunning lie. Or he was feeling uncomfortable.

Pai didn't know, but Retasu was developing the ability to understand him better than most others. Where he would just look like an unchanging rock to everyone else, to Retasu he was what he actually was: A living being with a conscience. His eyes, his posture, the way he spoke and all kinds of other details. Slowly she began to decipher them.

Even when he didn't notice his own changes, even if the rest of the world was still trapped in ignorance, she saw them. She began to comprehend that Pai was not only the stone cold enigma he appeared to be. There was more to him, he had emotions too. Though they were pushed away into a far corner, Retasu had come to see and to understand the emotions that he was secretly showing the entire world.

He too had little traits and habits of his own. And after spending quite some time with him this week, their meanings started to reveal themselves. And in a case like this it was very useful. Even though he wasn't really the actual, living Pai she knew, but her own imagination.

"I am afraid that no new revelation has occurred to me yet. I ask you to continue 'sleeping' so I can study your reactions to sounds, movements etcetera. Unless you are uncomfortable with my presence when you are in your more vulnerable state. If that is the case, I will leave you immediately."

He wanted her to sleep? But she was dreaming, she was already asleep and as he was just a figment of her imagination, he should know that, should he not? Very realistic, this dream.

"But, Pai-san, I am already asleep, am I not?" His eyes widened with utter confusion and it bothered Retasu, so she continued: "This has to be a dream, since there is not even the slightest possibility that Pai-san would ever really be in my room at night. He has no business here, so he won't come. It's simple logic." It was like she was trying to convince herself instead of him.

Those dark eyes that glistened in the slightly lit, yet dark room seemed to soften. Those eyes. Retasu had only seen them like this once. When he was about to die while he saved them in the final battle against Deep Blue. They made her feel shyer than she had felt in a while. Still she couldn't help but whisper:

"If he ever did, I would be very flattered." Just saying it made her red as a tomato. She felt the blush spread from her cheeks all the way up to her ears. The eyes looked perfectly shocked, but they looked at her just as intense as they had kept on doing the entire time. It made her fumble her blanket and made her stutter.

"B-But I'm-m be-being ridi-diculous, of-f course! I-I'm ju-just dreami-ing it all u-up, sil-lly me!" She let out an awkward laugh, but deciding that this strange dream had lasted long enough she wanted to end it, wake up, note that there is no-one in her room and sleep and maybe have another dream.

She got out of bed, stood straight in front of 'Pai' and said, with all the confidence she could muster and all the wit she could collect: "L-look! When I try to touch you, I will either wake up or go right through you." With that said she hesitantly poked her pointing-finger right in his chest once.

The room was completely silent. It seemed like the whole world fell silent. But nothing happened. She didn't wake up, she didn't go through him, nothing. He didn't disappear. Panic took over and she poked him one more time and one more time and another more, each time a little harder.

But what she felt under her finger was not nothing, like in every of her dreams. Under her finger she felt body warmth, solid flesh hidden from view by a shirt, everything that was not supposed to be there! She stared at his face, a face she secretly thought was quiet handsome, and for once, just once, she wished it would evaporate in thin air. That it was not really there and that she was not really awake and embarrassing herself.

All her hopes were crushed though, when he spoke up, after staring back at her intently, awaiting a reaction: "I comprehend that this is an unusual situation and you do not expect it, but I am afraid that I am truly here. Before you ask any questions, I can give you no legit reason for my presence. This combined with the fact that I am keeping you from your rest results in my immediate decision to leave you now. Goodnight."

During his statement she hadn't dared to look at him. 'Oh God! What must he think of me? Midorikawa Retasu, you are such an idiot!' Due to her chaotic train of thought, she could barely concentrate on what he said. When she finally fully registered that he was about to leave he had already moved some feet away, ready to teleport.

"No! Don't leave!" She was shaking and her whole head had transformed into a tomato. Not only Pai, but she herself was also surprised by her own words. "Pardon?" The monotone voice replied phlegmatic. She cautiously looked up from her feet to his face, her head still bowed a little, making her look pitiful.

"I don't want you to go and leave me alone yet, Pai-san. Would you please stay a little longer?" She asked quietly, careful not to wake anyone in the house, not that they were light sleepers, but still.

"If you insist." Pai answered.

In an unexplainable wave of happiness, Retasu nearly knocked the breath out of him, because she pulled him into a tight hug. She didn't know where the courage to actually hug Pai came from, but she would get worked up about it later. Right now, she just stood there, her arms wrapped around his torso, holding onto him for dear life.

It was surprising how eagerly he accepted the hug. She had half-expected him to gently distance himself from her, but he didn't. He just relaxed in her arms and after a few moments even carefully returned the gesture! That moment was one of the happiest Retasu had had in months.

It gave her the power to hope, that someday Pai would understand the concept named love. That someday, he might return the feelings she harboured for him. This one hug gave her enough strength and resolve that she wordlessly promised herself that she would wait for him.

Even though he didn't know it, he meant the world to her.

* * *

><p>She was holding him. Hugging him. His insides involuntarily made a flip. What first seemed to turn into an awkward night he would want to forget as soon as possible, turned out to be one of the most happiest night in years.<p>

She probably didn't know what she was doing to him, but right then, all could go to Hell. And he wrapped his arms around her. Gently, so she would not be scared off. The second after that passed awfully slow. When, after five more seconds she showed no sign of letting go soon, he released a breath he hadn't known he had held.

After that he just hugged her, the feelings rocketing through his system. It made him realise that this is what he wanted. He wanted her hug, her embrace and he would do anything to get her. Because once she loved him, anything could happen and he would still die a happy man.

Who would have ever thought that one girl, one human girl, could ever make Pai's entire existence take a turn towards a much happier direction?

They ended up standing there for quite a while. When they finally did release one another there was a short awkward pause, but then, somehow, they started a conversation about nothing and everything at all.

And as they kept on talking about all kinds of subjects, both got their definite resolve together. Pai was determined on his part that he would win Retasu's heart, would make her love him so truly that she would never wish to leave his side.

Retasu, on her part, strengthened her resolve to patiently wait for him to develop any feelings close to love at all. She wouldn't dare to try anything now, but if, in the future, he would show interest in love she would try to show him how she felt, hoping that it would make him interested in her.

The conversation kept on going for a few hours, until Retasu literally fell asleep on the spot. Pai had been standing all the time, while she had, after a while sat down on her bed. So at one point, in the mid-sentence, she had dropped sideways, her head half on her pillow, her legs still hanging over the edge of her bed.

Pai's heart dropped in fear and he instantly knelt down to feel her pulse. When he eventually had convinced himself that she had just fallen asleep, he carefully lifted her legs into bed, laid her head on her pillow properly, so she was in a comfortable position and covered her from toe to shoulder with her blanket.

Satisfied, he decided that he too was in need of some rest, so after a last glance, he teleported back to the spaceship and immediately went to bed. He was about to, for the first time in ages, dream again.

* * *

><p><strong>A.N. Hello! I haven't updated for too long, I know, but I was very busy, OK? XD<strong>

**Anyway, this chapter is extra long: Over 5000 words long. To make it up a little.**

**I hope you enjoyed it! ^^**

**Leave a review, please! I need critics on the story and corrections of my writing errors, so please, I'm begging you to help me out!**

_**Edit: Let me conclude once more with**_

_**Review and/or continue!**_


	20. Journey to Death

**Hello everybody!**

**Ohisashiburi, ne (long time no see, right)?**

**I'm sorry I kept you waiting for quite a while, but I've been rather busy, since school started and...**

**What the heck, I just didn't feel like writing this chapter, so it took me longer than usual! XD**

**Anyway, enjoy chapter 20 (20 already? O_O) of Coming down to Earth!**

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><p>Wednesday. Today, it was Wednesday. Fuyou Yukka's funeral was today. And Ichigo felt absolutely dreadful. She had only been to one funeral before and she didn't remember at all what it was like. But even if she had, it still would be no help. It was someone her age who was going to be buried!<p>

Someone that had been going to the same school, someone who had passed her more than once in the corridors, someone… Someone… Someone who had, however briefly, dated Aoyama-kun. Her loss had made a wreck out of him. They must have been really close.

The realisation got to Ichigo. She didn't know how she was going to do it, but she had to be strong. For his sake. Even someone with the emotional range of a teaspoon could have deducted that Aoyama-kun would need someone to hold onto. For once, he could not be the knight in shining armor.

She would be there. She would hold his hand through it all and comfort him. Even now that she knew that her heart belonged to someone else. After all that Aoyama-kun had done for her, she owed him at least this much, if not more.

Ichigo got out of her bed. She had been restless since four in the morning and pretty damn pissed because of it. She had tried countless times to return to her dreamland, but Fuyou-san and Aoyama-kun kept haunting her.

By now it was six o'clock and Ichigo couldn't take anymore. For once in her life, Momomiya Ichigo was going to be extremely early. Even her mother had not yet woken up, which said a lot. But here she was, going through the regular routine of putting her uniform, combing her hair and putting two piggy tails in them. The only difference from a normal schoolday was that, because of the current time, all her movements were ten times slower than usual. She wasn't in a hurry, so why should she be hasty?

And she was exhausted, which added to her lack of speed. Unbearably slow and in a vain attempt to be silent, Ichigo made her way downstairs, prepared herself a meal and sat down, ever so slowly started consuming said meal.

Needlessly to say, when her mother came downstairs around seven o'clock, being her energetic and cheerful self, she was frightened out of her skin to see her daughter sitting at the dining table.

"Ichigo, honey!" She half-yelped. "You scared me for a moment! I thought you were a ghost!" She laughed weakly, before she spotted the expression on her daughter's face and her voice died out.

Laying a hand on her shoulder, she spoke softly: "I'm sorry, dear. It was just a joke…" Ichigo's gloomy face showed no reaction, apart from the fact that she had slightly turned her head to look at her mother. So her mother continued. "Today is the day, isn't it?"

Ichigo nodded curtly. Her behaviour was beginning to grow concerning. Her mother hated to see Ichigo like this.

In an attempt to motivate her daughter a bit she sat down on her knees and took her hands, looking right into Ichigo's exhausted and sad eyes.

"Dear, I know this is hard on you, but I too know that if you are not strong today, you will hate yourself later. Think of Aoyama-kun. For his sake, you mustn't go to the burial looking like a walking corpse, don't you agree?"

For the first time, Ichigo opened her mouth and whispered a soft, yet confident reply: "You are right, mom. I just have to get through today, no matter what!" And she smiled. It was a small, gentle but strong smile.

Suddenly Momomiya Shintarou's, Ichigo's father, head popped through the doorway. He looked at both women, before asking: "So the Aoyama-boy's dead, huh?" He tried not to make it sound hopeful, but failed miserably. Mrs. Momomiya stood up angrily. "Shintarou!" She shouted indignantly.

"Sorry! Sakura, honey, I said I'm sorry! No, wait! Honey, what are you going to do with that spoon…? Aah! Sakura! Sakuraaaa! Ouch! Alright, alright! I'll go! I'll go!"

Her mother had chased after her dad, threatening him with a spoon, effectively getting him away from Ichigo. After a minute she returned to the kitchen with the infamous spoon, sighing."

"I'm so sorry, dear. You know how your father is…" Ichigo smiled broadly. "I know, mom. But I'm going to clean myself up before I head to school, okay?" "Sure."

Ichigo started heading to the bathroom. In the doorway she paused, as she realised she forgot something. "Thanks, mom." Before she could take another step, her mother grabbed her attention again.

"Anytime, honey. Oh, and Ichigo?"

"Yes?" She replied hopefully with a tiny wary smile. What did she hope for? That her mother would suddenly tell her that if she were to want to date an alien that that would be no problem at all? That was ridiculous!

"Tonight, we'll be waiting for you with a warm meal and a free shoulder, should you need any of those…" Ah. What a caring mother she had. The small smile grew larger. "Thank you, mom…"

With that said, Ichigo dashed out of the room, up the stairs and… Nearly collided head first into her dad! He quickly grabbed her arm to steady her, not giving her the chance to fall. He waved off her apologies and exclamations of what he had taught her about running in the house. When he did so, she looked at him with a confused look in her eyes.

He scratched the back of his head, avoiding her gaze. An instance later he came back to his senses, or he made up his mind, or both, Ichigo couldn't tell. The point was that he had stopped fidgeting "What's the matter, dad? You look rather uncomfortable…" She tried. He shook his head and sighed.

"I'm… Sorry about my remark just now, okay? I hope he's fine, that Aoyama-boy…" He didn't mean a thing of what he said in his second sentence, but Ichigo decided to give him some credit for at least trying. "It's alright really! I know you didn't mean it!" She grinned. Seeming relieved to have got that over with, her dad grinned too and patted her head playfully.

"I'm glad you understand, kid!" Then he left, probably to make himself breakfast. Ichigo sighed at her dad's habits and childish spirit. Giving it no more thought, she went to the bathroom. She nearly had a immediate cardiac arrest when she saw her reflection! She looked like a ghost! She had dark bags under her eyes and the rest of her face was extremely pale.

Splashing water in her face, rinsing her face, brushing her teeth etc. etc., it all occupied her for quite a while, but it also paid off. She had some colour on her face now and the bags were nearly invisible. All in all, Ichigo was quite content. She smiled in the mirror, gave herself a confident nod and left the bathroom.

Looking at the clock, she noted that she had enough time to make it to school without the usual sprint and shortcuts (Thank heavens, she had cat-DNA!). She put on her jacket and her shoes, grabbed her bag and told her parents she was going to go.

As soon as she was out the door, she felt the gloom creeping up on her again, but she defiantly pushed it off. She was going to make this day bearable and no-one, she repeated no-one, was going to stop her!

The route to school was rather tedious. She had no hope to run into Aoyama-kun. He would stay at home today. The teachers knew it would cause him no trouble, he was after all a smart boy, he could miss one day. Besides, they sympathised with him. The dear boy lost a loved one. Who could not feel any compassion for him?

She had hardly reached the school grounds, when two familiar voices shouted her name, quickly followed by four arms which wrapped themselves around her in a hug. "Hold yourself together, Ichigo!" Moe shouted. "Good luck today!" Miwa added timidly. Ichigo laughed out loud. Miwa and Moe had their weird ways, alright…

"Miwa! Moe! Hey, you guys can let me go! I'm fine really!" she yelled eventually. The two pairs of arms stopped trying to strangle her. Both looked at her with a surprised look in their huge orbs.

"You're.. fine, you say?" Miwa asked quietly. Before Ichigo could respond, Moe burst into tears.

"Th-That's our Ichigo! A-always s-so stro-ong! Even i-in si-situa-ations like theeeese!" She snivelled.

Ichigo remembered who of those two was the most insane: Moe. Definitely.

After having calmed down the crying girl, which took about two seconds, they went to class, since the school bell rung.

The rest of the day was hardly memorable. School was just going on like nothing happened. As if Fuyou Yukka never existed, never walked the hallways, never attended classes there.

Ichigo was glad about it though. If each and every teacher was going to give them a lecture about the death of a fellow student, her resolve would be brought back to nothing.

Finally, the torment was over and Ichigo headed back home (once she managed to convince Moe and Miwa that she really would be fine, that is.). She was only home for a second though, to drop off her bag and change into appropriate clothing, a black kimono. Right after that, she headed for the Aoyama-residence, where she would tag along with Aoyama-kun and his parents. She would drive to the funeral with them.

She was there in no time, but as she raised her hand to knock on the door, she hesitated. The whole day she had been okay, because when she felt her mood drop, she would half-automatically think of golden eyes and forest green hair. It hadn't bothered her, she had even embraced it during school, but standing right before Aoyama-kun's front door, she felt bad. How could she even half a second think of Kisshu on a day like today?

The guy had yet to prove that he had nothing to do with the murders that have been committed. She truly, sincerely believed that he hadn't done anything wrong, but when everything points to him, he should at least bend it all into another direction. And he would, without a doubt. She couldn't help but wonder how long the bastard was going to take, though.

Here she was, thinking of him again! Especially now, she had to seriously quit it! It would be no good for her to think about him. She just had to be patient and save it for later… Alright, she did NOT just think that!

Tired of having to put up with her own thoughts, she knocked, hoping that Aoyama-kun would take her mind off… Other irrelevant things. It was as if he had been waiting at the door the entire day, because it opened an instant later.

Aoyama Masaya was still a wreck. Showered and wearing a suit, he still wasn't the appealing, happy guy he always had been. The dark circles under his eyes were still there, making Ichigo wonder whether he had closed one eye at all since… Yukka's death. His eyes were puffy from crying and bloodshot, too. And was it just her, or had his cheeks sunken a little? No, that couldn't be, in so little time it was impossible…

"Thank you so much for coming, Ichigo." he said, giving her some poor excuse of a gentle, grateful smile. Ichigo felt a lump form in her throat. There was no time to reply, because before Ichigo could even start thinking of a good response, his parents were by his side, looking very serious. His mother wrapped her arms around him, as a sign of support, after which she turned her attention to Ichigo, giving her a calming, kind smile.

Ichigo was glad to see that she would not be the only support for Aoyama-kun. Trying her best to smile at all of the Aoyama's she said: "Hello and thank you for offering me a lift today!"

"It is of course, no problem at all, but I think we should get going. It would be horrible if we were to be late." Mr. Aoyama replied. "Indeed, we should be going. Don't you think so too, Masaya?" Ms. Aoyama said, obviously not sure about how she should approach her son.

Not to long after that, the four of them were in the car and on the way. The whole journey, no-one said a word, but the tension was nearly visible. While Mr. Aoyama paid the road all the attention he had, Ms. Aoyama kept looking at her son, like he was going to explode any minute, while actually all he did was stare through the window and hold Ichigo's hand.

Ichigo tried her best not think of Kisshu, but all her attempts and struggles proved to be in vain. She kept thinking of him, his , in her opinion, quite good looks, his childish, stubborn character, her dreams about him and real memories of him. It all passed the front of her mind more than once while she sat in that car. Distracting herself by looking at Aoyama-kun was fruitless. It only made her feel terrible.

Looking at his devastated face, she began to wonder why she even came. Could she really get through this? Did she want to go through this.

It was a really bad timing, but Ichigo realised she wanted to be anywhere but where she was at that moment. She knew that after she would have seen Aoyama-kun break down entirely, which he would, she would never be able to break-up with him. The face of Aoyama-kun in his most vulnerable moment would be edged into her mind forever, haunting her when she even dared to think the word 'break-up'.

Today, she knew for sure, nearly all the freedom she had in her love-life would burn to the ground, leaving her with a pile of ashes of 'what-if's' and 'I-wish's' that would stay to torment her the rest of her life. Being with Kisshu would forever stay a dream, because, even with a cleared name, he would not be able to take her with him.

The only comforting thought she could muster was: 'At least, in my dreams, he will always remain perfect…'.

"Ichigo…?" Aoyama-kun had turned his attention to Ichigo and stared at her, with a look on his face that she couldn't place.

"Yes, Aoyama-kun?" She replied, unable to cloak the tone of her absent-mindedness. "You know I really do care for, don't you?" He said rather bluntly. If his parents hadn't been in the car, who knows what confessions he would have done. Probably something along the lines of 'I love you'. Ichigo, realising this, was very grateful towards his parents.

Yet she didn't understand why he felt the need to tell her so now, when she already felt horrible, but she couldn't dwell on it, she had to answer appropriately. But how could she answer appropriately without lying? She was surprised by her own quickness, because the answer immediately hit her. She faked a smile and said:

"Of course I know, Aoyama-kun! But you shouldn't be thinking about me today. You should think of yourself. I will take care of you today, and your parents will too!"

He looked at her lovingly, making her want to jump out of the car just to escape the flood of dreadful emotions that washed over her. Despair, guilt and sadness (for multiple reasons) were a few of them. Shame too was on the list. Shame, because she felt dire need to slap him in the face. Why in Earth's name did she want to slap the poor boy? Had she gone nuts?

He shook his head as if disapproving. Did he somehow read her mind?

"Thinking of myself is nothing but depressing, I want some distraction. That's mainly why I wanted you to come. To get my mind of all the depression and… death. So please Ichigo, don't pity me. Let me take care of you too. It must have been hard on you too… I mean, you were there too."

That's when Aoyama-kun's mother joined the conversation.

"Oh, how could I forget! How rude of me! Forgive me, Ichigo-san, I've been so worried about Masaya that I completely forgot that he told us that you were there with him, when he found the girl…"

Aoyama twitched slightly, being reminded of finding the corpse of Fuyou-san, Ichigo presumed.

"… I'm sorry, honey." His mother added quickly. He waved it off with a nearly invisible wave with his hand.

Ichigo felt it was her moment to respond. "Don't worry about it, Aoyama-san! I totally understand. I can't say that it hasn't been hard on me, isn't hard on me still, but I didn't really know her, so I think that it's logical for Aoyama-kun to be more shocked and distressed than me, since they were…"

"Acquaintances." Aoyama-kun interrupted abruptly. His mother gave him a stern look for a second, wordlessly scolding him for interrupting someone, before she dropped it.

'Surprised' was a huge understatement to how Ichigo felt. He lied to his parents? Aoyama-kun, supposedly the most perfect boy to walk the face of the Earth, lied, LIED to his parents?

This had to be some messed-up misunderstanding!

She looked at him curiously, but he didn't dare to look her way for the rest of the journey. The tension in the car stayed. The silence was deafening. All Ichigo could do was wonder. What had that interruption been about? She didn't get it. Hadn't he told his parents that he had broken up with her for that girl? Why?

"We're almost there." Aoyama-kun's father announced.

And as the graveyard came into view, Ichigo felt the need to puke, for more than one reason.

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><p><strong>A.N. So, what do you think?<strong>

**Btw, I don't own anything. Disclaimer, check.**

**Also, I'm not English, help me correct mistakes by sending me a message when you find one. Reminder, check.**

**Well, I think that's all for now. Until next time!**

**_Edit: Review or/and continue! XD_**


	21. Personal Prison

**A.N. Hell yeah, it's been a while. Sorry, I'm not going to surprise you with a super, epic, extremely long chapter! XD**

**It's just a shorty.**

**But it says all there is to say about our dear Ichigo's current state of mind. Please forgive me for failing to write a lot, but, just like every other teenager, I've got plenty of things to do and I have to decide where my priorities lie.**

**Sadly, my main priority is not writing. I try my best to find time to finish it though! I know there are quite some people who read this and I don't want to, by any means, let them down.**

**Also, this hasn't got any Kisshu in it, yet. Don't worry, though! Slowly, but surely we'll get there, since this is a Kishigo and NOT a tragedy, after all. ;)**

**Well, this is enough babbling for today, I hope you enjoy the chapter! ^^**

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><p>Tears. His face looked like it was made of the water he was crying. Tears. They rolled down his cheeks, those big drops of water, yet when they were halfway, his face seemed to absorb them somehow. Tears. His skin, his hair, his entire body started to look transparent and bluish. Almost like… Tears. No, he couldn't be made of them. He was a human, like her. Then why… Those tears…<p>

"Ichigo…" He whispered, choking on his words, as if he were drowning. He looked at her sorrowfully, smiled kindly…

And fell apart. He imploded, turning into nothing but water, rushing off in every single direction. He left her, sitting on her knees in front of the pile of soaked clothes that had been his. She sat there, alone in a huge pebble of cristal clear water. To her, it felt like blood. Her legs and hands were wet from all the blood. She tried to understand, but her mind was too slow. How, what, why? Shock wound itself around her entire being.

After a second that felt like an eternity, she opened her mouth. It was dry. But she didn't care. She screamed.

"AOYAMA-KUN!"

Another nightmare. Ichigo sat up, trying to catch her breath. She felt the sweat trickle down her back. Just another nightmare. Virtually the same as the one she had - what time was it? - Half an hour ago. It was four in the morning by now and her parents had given up on rushing to her side, only to hear that she just had a bad dream before they were ushered out of the room again. This was the fifth time Ichigo woke up screaming that night.

Probably without him being aware of it, Masaya had forever nailed himself on Ichigo. Whatever she tried, she couldn't get rid of the face, his face, as everyone got the opportunity to bid their goodbyes to Fuyou Yukka. Or her corpse anyway.

Ichigo recalled for a moment how they had stood there, Aoyama-kun and her, looking at the body of a girl her age. True to her name, she was surrounded by lotuses and yucca's, apparently some sort of lilies.

Ichigo recalled how Aoyama-kun had bent over and whispered something in the dead girl's ear, before forcing himself to stand up straight and looked down on her and turned to Ichigo, doing his best to keep his voice from trembling, while saying: "She looks peaceful, doesn't she?"

At the time, Ichigo could only nod and agree, for a second later she nearly had to drag him off before he burst into tears. Which he would continue to do during the whole ceremony. He had clung to her like a helpless puppy, cried on her shoulder and was overall nothing short for plain pathetic.

Ichigo wasn't sure if it ever would stop to haunt her. That face, those eyes… Like they dared her to anything but console him. Like they threatened her to be devoted to anyone but him. They sucked her will and life away. Through the whole ordeal, she noticed how he seemed to take over her mind. Silently, he stole every thought of Kisshu away and replaced it with pictures of him. Her childhood love. Her boyfriend. Her knight. Her… Nuisance.

Yet, she couldn't wish for Kisshu anymore. Masaya needed her. He made it clear today that she was the only thing that kept him alive at this point. She couldn't get away anymore. It all played out like she predicted in the car.

He crushed her with the weight of his love, his helplessness, his entire being. It kept her down, but she hardly allowed herself to breath. She had to carry this weight, had to endure all of it. She wouldn't allow herself to let Masaya down.

This was mainly due to what he had told her on the way back from the funeral. "Ichigo…" He had started. "Thank you. So much for being there for me. I don't know if I will ever be able to make amends. But I'll try every day. I'll be there for you too. I love you, Momomiya Ichigo and I wouldn't know how to live without you. I don't think I would see another morning without you."

That had been all he had needed to say. Then and there she decided that even when she loved Kisshu, she wouldn't leave Masaya.

But not out of love. Definitely not. Never again would she be able to love him, now that she felt what love could also feel like. Because she never did nor would she ever love Kisshu like she had loved Masaya. Her new love was, in a way, more down to Earth, more realistic. Of course, her love for Masaya had been real, but she had never seen any faults in him. He was heaven. He was perfect. The guy every girl wished for.

But Kisshu… He was not perfect at all. On the contrary, she had never met a guy with so many faults and flaws. He cared for nothing but himself and the things he loved, he was arrogant, childish, lustful, a flirt and equalled her in being stubborn to the point that it became annoying. All of that combined made him an unpredictable first rank jerk. He was hell.

But she loved him anyway. In all his sinful, flawed glory, he was the boy, the man she loved. There would never again be another, no matter how cheesy it may sound.

So, no. No, she didn't put Masaya's happiness before her own because of love. Friendly feelings towards him were only an extra motive. She mostly did it because of guilt. She was a Mew, yet she had let someone die. Consoling one of people which were struck by this death was the least she could do. . Also, she pitied him. She had never seen him fall so hard. Never had seen him this vulnerable. It showed her a side of him she never knew. A weak, pathetic, unattractive side of him.

In a way she loathed him for it. Because it formed an invisible prison inside her mind. And while she feared it and prayed that one day, she would have the courage to break out, she was positively sure that he would never let her.

For even though she lost her love for him somewhere along the line, he still seemed to love her with all his heart. How she hated it. The knowledge that once made her happy beyond sanity now robbed her of any positive feelings at all. But what could she do?

She would be trapped inside those loving arms until her dying day.

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><p><strong>A.N. What do you think? Sad, sweet, lame, an insult to the hobby of writing?<strong>

**Please, review! Because we all know that reviews make the world go 'round, the world go 'round, the world go 'round!**

**See ya (Hopefully soon!)!**

**_Edit: I repeat:_**

_**Review or/and continue! (Don't know what's with me and that phrase)**_


	22. The End of Another Day

**A.N. ****Here's another!**

**Enjoy! ^^**

**_Edit: I've added a small part to the chapter, since I initially wanted to take another leap through time after this chapter, but then decided that it would be rather pointless. The end is getting in sight. I hope you don't mind._**

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><p>Nearly a week has gone by now. Ichigo's imprisonment continued to exist. It already felt like a never ending cycle. Get up in the morning, please Masaya all day, go to the Café, please Masaya when he's there too and go to bed. This was all Ichigo had done, most of the days.<p>

She pleased everybody, especially Masaya, and faked enough smiles to make all the world believe that she could not have been happier. Hell yes, she could be, but she told nobody that.

If she told anyone about her current state of unending depression, she could never for sure exclude the chance that Masaya would find out about it, but would just keep quiet about her… her… What was it to begin with? She wasn't even really unfaithful, because she didn't cheat on him or anything.

Her deception. Yes, that's what it was. She was deceiving him. Heh. Kisshu would be so proud. If he only knew…

Ichigo could hardly repress a sigh as she stood there, in the middle of Café Mew Mew, holding a broom in her hands without even trying to make it look like she was using it. She was exhausted. Masaya had just gone home, so she could at least drop one part of her act and permit herself to look a little tired. Meaning that after 'sweeping the floor', she could overdramatically drop herself in a chair without looking suspicious. If she didn't forget to complain about the amount of work she had to do today, the customers and Shirogane-san being a jerk for not raising her pay, that is.

Even though her own circumstances weren't that great at all, Ichigo managed to smile, while she dropped herself in a pink, soft, heart-shaped chair now that she was done with her part of the 'cleaning up'. This was because of the happiness of her friends. Not so much the happiness of Zakuro, Mint and Keiichiro, because they were not necessarily really happy lately, and not because of Shirogane's happiness either, since she honestly didn't really give a damn, as he treated her rather horrible, even after she had saved the world!

No, what made her smile was the state of excitement both Retasu and Purin seemed to be drowning in. Pai and Taruto had been regular visitors of the Café the past week. They showed up every day Retasu and Purin worked, after the Café had closed down. In other words, they visited daily.

This alone was more than enough reason for both of the girls to work really hard during the day, to get rid of most of the energy which was caused by their anticipation. Their overly obvious cheerfulness was enough to make Ichigo smile. It was just really cute in Ichigo's opinion. And who's to say that she was wrong. It, truth be told, WAS cute.

Every time Taruto showed up, he would be greeted with a very loud "Taru-Taru!", before being tackled to the ground by a blond little girl, who would then proceed to attempt to crush every bone in his body with a tight hug. Soon after that they would take off, while bickering in strangely happy manner, to who knows where.

Ichigo liked to compare that picture to the picture of Retasu and Pai. Pai would come in saying absolutely nothing. He would acknowledge all those who were present in the room with only a nod, except for Retasu, who he always greeted by stating: "I have come to visit you."

She in return always greeted him with a bow, while softly speaking the words: "Hello, Pai-san. Please wait here for a moment or two and I'll join you shortly." She always nervously blurted the last part out and turned red as a tomato. Pai never noticed or at least refrained from making any remarks about it. He would always answer: "Very well. I'll wait for you here."

At this point, Retasu would leave the room and about two minutes later, she would head out with Pai. Each and every time she would, without being asked to do so, explain to them what kind of experiment they would be doing that day. Retasu once tried to explain the other Mews one of those experiments more fully. She never attempted it again, because at the end of her lecture, about what physics law she was going to test with Pai actually meant, all of them, Zakuro included, stared at her with a blank expression, not knowing what on earth she had been going on about.

Ichigo had noticed that where the subjects of first five minutes of conversation between Taruto and Purin differed each and every time, Pai and Retasu's conversation would start out exactly the same. They always seemed to go through some formal rituals before they actually started talking. Although both of them only spoke formally towards the other, or in public at least, their body language made words uncalled for.

Pai always stood at reasonable distance from Retasu, but the way he leant forward just a little too much, made it obvious that he wished to move closer, even though he knew it would be improper.

That way, he looked like a living shield, like he was constantly protecting Retasu from getting hit by arrows or something similar.

Retasu, instead of looking small and fragile like she usually would, actually stood straight up when she was with Pai. He still was nearly a foot taller than her, but it didn't make her shrink back like she usually would. In fact, she seemed to stretch out, like she was reaching to be his length. She still fumbled with her hands and looked down occasionally, not to mention that her cheeks were always slightly pink when he was within three metre away from her. But she still looked stronger and more confident.

Something which amused Ichigo and yet caused her to worry slightly was the way Shirogane would look at the pair. It had been all to clear that after the final battle against Deep Blue, Retasu had gradually got over her feelings for him. To anyone but said girl, it also had been very obvious that Shirogane had been very unhappy to see it happen. Ichigo was still puzzled as to why he never tried to hit on Retasu.

Was he too lazy? Did he think that she would eventually confess, that she would just come to him when the time was right? Ichigo could only wonder what was going on in that arrogant blond head of his. What she could tell however, was that he was losing the girl he wanted to be his to one of his biggest enemies. And Pai knew that all too well too. The tension between those two guys was almost tangible.

They never spoke a word of hatred or the smallest competitions. They would only glare at each other, when Retasu wasn't looking, each with their own killing intend written all over their face. And poor Retasu wasn't even remotely aware…

Ichigo called herself back to here and now. She shouldn't forget to voice her usual complaints!

Stretching in her chair, she yawned and yelled out: "I'm exhausted! Dang that Shirogane for making me do all the work around here!"

A very short-tempered Shirogane entered through the kitchen's doors, shouting: "Shut up, Baka Strawberry! Just do your work and go home! Or is that Aoyama-boy coming to pick you up, too? Hell, why don't we just build a special employee's boyfriend's entrance? I'm sick and tired of pointing those damn aliens the way to the right Mew! Can't they give me a bre-"

"So Pai and Taruto have already arrived, than?" Ichigo rudely interrupted. Shirogane looked ready to explode, so she quickly stood up and got into the kitchen. And was hit in the face with a piece of soap. Before she could respond she heard two voices bursting into laughter. Taruto and Purin.

"Sorry, Ichigo-oneechan, na no da!" Purin giggled. "Purin was aiming for Taru-Taru's head, but he ducked, na no da!"

"Ha ha ha ha! You should've seen your face, old hag! Priceless!" Taruto held his sides in a vain attempt to regain control over himself. Ichigo felt the annoyance rise in her chest and she didn't even try to suck it up. "Old hag, still? Why don't you grow up, you little midget!" she raged. Taruto didn't stop laughing though. If anything, he laughed even harder. Ichigo gave up. She quitted the room, leaving Purin and Taruto in their own mess.

She walked down the hall to the changing room and was surprised to find Pai waiting at the door. He gave her a stiff nod and even with the little knowledge Ichigo had about him, she could deduct that he was very irritated. She now had reason to believe that he and Shirogane had just had their first verbal fight.

Pai politely turned his back on the door, so she could open it and get inside without having to worry that he would see some things he wasn't supposed to see. Not that she believed Pai to be particularly interested in such things, but better safe than sorry. Yet, the fact that he without a word turned away from such opportunities proved that his indifference was indeed as big as she thought it to be. Which gave her a reason to think that he might just be the right guy for Retasu, as he wouldn't force things she didn't want to do on her.

As expected, Retasu was changing too. She just finished putting on her second shoe when Ichigo entered. "Hello, Ichigo-san." she greeted. Ichigo smiled one of the first genuine smiles of today. Retasu really was one of her best friends. "Hi, Retasu, how has your day been so far?" she answered.

"It's been fine, I suppose." Retasu said. Then she looked down at her hands and added: "But Shirogane-san has been looking at me weirdly all day, I am not so sure what to do…"

Ah. This might just explain some things. "Did you tell Pai?" Ichigo inquired. Retasu's skin turned from natural skin colour to tomato-red in 0.41 seconds. Clearly surprised Retasu stuttered: "P-P-Pai-san? N-No..! He di-did com-m-ment on it th-though, because he s-saw it too. He-He l-l-leant really c-cl-close to m-me and whisp-p-ered: 'Shi-Shirogane Ry-Ry-Ryou is loo-looking at y-y-you st-strangely and I-I-I do n-not l-like it.'"

Ichigo giggled at her friend who was flushed and looked perfectly hopeless. "It seems then, that you've got two men fighting over you, Retasu. I ran into them both on my way here and they seem really annoyed." Shocked was an understatement as to how Midorikawa Retasu must have felt. She looked like Pai had just told her that water could in fact burn and he loved unicorns, which lived on Jupiter.

"N-No! It cannot be! Shirogane-san doesn't like me like that… and neither does Pai-san!" The hesitation in mid-sentence was all Ichigo needed to understand something important.

"Retasu…" she started. "What happened between you and Pai-san?" Retasu looked around a few times quickly, in a very much panicked manner. "Nothing! Nothing! Nothing happened between Pai-san and me. My relationship with him is equal to yours with him!"

Ichigo laughed softly, not believing that Retasu could get worked up THAT easily. "You can hardly expect me to believe such things, Retasu." Having lost everything that even came close to calmness, Retasu half-exclaimed: "But hasn't everybody hugged him at least once?"

Immediately catching up on her own slip-up, Retasu put her hand on her mouth, to prevent anything else from coming out.

Ichigo had to admit that she had never expected to hear that. Before she replied Retasu made a pleading 'not too loud' sign, so Ichigo ended up whispering: "You HUGGED him? Retasu, why haven't you told me before?" Retasu fumbled with the edge of her skirt, while shyly admitting: "Yes, he visited me one night and somehow I ended up making a fool out of myself and hugging him… I didn't tell you because you were too wrapped up in the funeral of Fuyou-san at the time…"

"And what did he do?" Ichigo continued her interrogatory eagerly. Retasu turned even redder than a tomato. "He-He… He hugged me back…" Ichigo couldn't help but think 'I knew it!', but showed no sign of what was going on in her head. Instead she answered oddly calm with an "I see…"

Retasu bowed deeply, pleading Ichigo to not tell anyone, as it would only make them start seeing things which weren't there.

"So I beg of you, Ichigo-san, don't mention it to anyone, because I want to spare Pai-san and myself the unnecessary questions… Please!"

Seeing that Retasu really made a big deal out of it, Ichigo promised that she wouldn't say a word about it to anyone. Reassured by this promise, Retasu smiled, her face regained it's natural colour and she bid Ichigo goodbye cheerfully, as Pai was waiting on her, so she really ought to go.

Smiling too, Ichigo waved Retasu off. As soon as Retasu had left the room, the smile dropped though. Pai and Taruto… The group of aliens was awfully incomplete. Kisshu had yet to show his face. His cute, attractive… Ugly, entirely overrated, jerk..ish face! Subconsciously Ichigo face palmed herself. No thinking about him! And certainly not about his beaut- His face!

This was exactly why she both anticipated and dreaded his inevitable return. She had no idea what she was supposed to do and more importantly, what she would end up doing if he chose to appear again. And she hated it. She hated not knowing what she was going to do. The helplessness. The insecurity. It were those things that she couldn't allow herself to feel as the headstrong, confident leader of the Mew Mews. She was supposed to be the unchanging rock everyone could rely on, damn it!

But how could she be a freaking unchanging rock in front of a guy which she couldn't even think about without feeling the urge to laugh and cry at the same time?

It was one of the many things that made her love for him so utterly different from the love she had felt for Masaya. She had always wanted to protect Masaya, to be the happy, cheerful, simple girl he believed her to be. Of course, she would show him her pains too, but when she did, Masaya would be very protective of her until she was that happy, cheerful girl again. Thinking it over, afterwards, it seemed so silly to her. She was pushed and formed into the girl he wanted to see, without her even knowing.

Kisshu however had seen her at her very best and worst, but never showed a lot of overprotection, or never subtly pushed her into any role. She could be what she wanted to be, he would be there anyway. If she really needed help, he knew and he would come, but otherwise, he would let her do whatever she wanted, let her get up by herself. She was grateful for that, weird as it may sound. But really, he gave her the room to become strong. He fought by her side, not in front of her.

And that was how she wanted it to be, she wanted a companion, not a saviour.

But she was doomed to live in the shadow of her saviour. What a depressing girl she was, after all.

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><p>Unknown to Ichigo, she was currently not the only one who felt the despair spreading through her body. On a once again insignificant building, a certain alien was about to rip everything apart he could get his hands on. He knew it! He was certain as hell! But it made no sense at all!<p>

Well sure, to him it did, but he had no head on proof, only speculations. It would never be enough to make it seem even a tad plausible in her eyes. And there was no way to get sufficient evidence. It had all been destroyed. Man, his enemy was clever. He knew said enemy's motive, but was the only thing that Ichigo might believe.

It was painfully obvious. He needed a complete confession. It was the only hope he had. And damn it, he hated it! He hated being driven in a corner, with as the only way out a last resort of which he was not sure if it would succeed! He hated it, he hated it, HE HATED IT!

In an overwhelming urge to take out his anger on something, he ripped the papers in his hands, fruits of his work of the past days, weeks, to pieces. It didn't matter though. All they had been were sheets of information, which by now he knew by heart. Mere sheets of information. Information concerning the events which had taken place shortly after each other, about two weeks ago.

Thinking about the time he had spent on Earth, he had to crack a smile though. In little more than a week he had managed to do something he hadn't been able to do within the year he first came to Earth. He had managed to make Ichigo love him. Finally! He got a lot of shit thrown at him, but at least she loved him. She returned his feelings in the end. As he always knew she would. Scratch that. As he always had hoped she would.

With that in mind he decided on what he would do.

It would be full moon tonight.

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><p><strong>A.N. Please review! I need opinions. Is the story going too fast? Or is it okay like this?<strong>

**I hope you liked this chapter and I will try to upload sooner, but I will certainly not guarantee anything. **


	23. Clouds and Constellations

**A.N. Here I am again! ^^**

**I worked rather hard on this chapter, so I hope it's not disappointing. **

**... That's all I got, so enjoy the chapter!**

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><p>Apart from running into a very annoyed Shirogane and ending up in a fight with him, which took up nearly half an hour, Ichigo's routine was as boring as always. She walked home, through the park, down the streets, avoiding the alleyways and made it home unharmed. Soon after, she had dinner with her parents and went upstairs to do her homework. It wasn't much, so she managed.<p>

Even though everything was as regular as usual, she couldn't quite shake off the feeling that something was out of place. Probably her Mew senses were running wild, but the awkward feeling just wouldn't leave her. Just when she was about to give up on maths as she couldn't concentrate at all, she heard someone knock on her front door (cat DNA could come in handy sometimes).

Her mother answered the door. Ichigo knew by the soft sound of the door carefully being opened, instead of being pulled open with sheer force, like her father did. She almost tumbled out of her chair when she heard the voice of Masaya at door. He said he came to pick her up for their special date. Ichigo didn't know what to think about that. 'Special date? Wait, that would mean that today…'

Ichigo looked out of her window and searched the sky. It was already dark and there were no clouds to be seen. If she had to believe the forecast, the clouds would come soon though. But that was not what she was looking for! Then she saw it. Just behind the building of one of the many big companies she saw a bright part of what must be a full moon.

Full moon! She had a date with Masaya! He had asked her to go stargazing with him and she had reluctantly agreed. It was in the middle of the week, but Masaya had persisted on going on one particular day, as it would be a fairly clear night, with, more importantly, a full moon.

Today was that particular day. And she had absolutely forgotten about it!

As her mother called for her, she didn't now that Ichigo overheard everything she told Masaya after all, Ichigo flew into her closet and drawers, looking for proper pieces of clothing to wear. She kept it plain and simple, just as always. Not only did she not own outstanding clothing, she also secretly hoped that Masaya would get tired of 'plain and simple' some day.

So far, luck hadn't been on her side though.

Looking in the mirror one last time, attempting to care about how good her hair looked at the moment, she made her way downstairs, into the hall… To Masaya.

The feeling she had before turned from awkward to eerie for no apparent reason.

She saw her mother giving her and her appearance a criticising look, without any further comment, before wishing them both a good time. From the living room, they heard Ichigo's father yell: "You'd better bring her back home safe, got it boy?" Masaya assured him that he would and after that, they set off to the park, to the cherry blossom who, as Masaya put it, 'held so many wonderful memories'.

In the back of her mind, Ichigo vaguely wondered where she had left Masha, before she realised she was thinking about insignificant things. She should be listening to whatever Masaya was telling her! It was about a campaign which was set up to get the government to spend more money on sealife or something along those lines. Ugh.

Not that she didn't care about sealife. She cared more about it than the average teenager, which, considering her history, wasn't very odd. It was just that most of the things Masaya participated in were so indirect. Instead of directly going out on the sea, for example, to save turtles, dolphins and such from drift nets, he was now working on a campaign on land. Ichigo didn't really see how it would help the dying animals. But then again, he knew far more about it than her, so who was she to judge?

A heartbreaking story about dolphins and how humans killed them later, the couple reached the cherry tree. Masaya was still chattering on (Ichigo didn't even bother to figure out what it was about now) and Ichigo nodded, smiled and said an affirmative word or two every so often. As always.

And as always Masaya was as considerate as could be. He had taken some sweets with him and two blankets. One to sit on and one for when they would feel cold. She had to give him some credit for being thoughtful, that she couldn't deny.

As they sat down and stared at the stars, his hand on hers, Ichigo felt a sudden sadness take over. 'Kisshu…' The name popped up out of nowhere. Well, not out of nowhere, out of her memories. He had been looking at the stars with her too. 'Kisshu…' Masaya's voice pulled her back to the cherry tree.

"Ichigo, do you see those three, bright stars, they're called-" "Orion's belt, I know." Masaya stared at her as if she had told him that she liked to fly around the city with winged pigs, before she ate them, in her spare time. Ichigo's eyes too were wide with horror. She had interrupted Masaya. Aoyama Masaya! Her boyfriend! It was most inappropriate! Would he mind it much? Would he dump her? A hope which was even more inappropriate then her interruption grew.

He seemed however to recover quickly. "Erm… Yes, you're right. It's Orion's belt. I didn't know you were interested in astronomy." Turning a little pink, Ichigo looked down and didn't dare to look up before she mumbled: "I'm not… I was just taught a little… By a friend." As she looked up, she was surprised to see that Masaya's face had hardened. What did she say wrong?

"Masaya?"

As she called out his name carefully, he snapped out of it and smiled, albeit a little forced.

"It's nothing, Ichigo, I just got a bit distracted, that's all." She nodded slowly, not fully believing him, but deciding to leave it. And so, he changed the subject.

"Let's see if we can find Jupiter among the stars! Did you know that the Greeks called planets 'wanderers'? They called them by that name, because-"

* * *

><p>Damn! Just when he had made up his mind, she disappeared! She wasn't at home, nor at Café Mew Mew. Her school had closed some hours ago, so he was running out of options.<p>

So here he was, flying around Tokyo, in search for that particular redhead. She was not with that green Mew, nor with the yellow one, since Pai and Taruto were with them now.

The other two Mews. The blue and the purple one. He would check their houses.

* * *

><p>He got lost in his own lecture about the Greeks, their experiments, their knowledge and their culture. Her worrieshope that he would be offended enough to dump her appeared unfounded, because he rambled on just like he did before that, like she never had offended him in anyway. Just what did it take to properly piss this guy off?

Did she really have to repeatedly stomp on his heart, like she believed he didn't have one? Did she have to get angry at him and accuse him of cheating? Just what on earth would it take?

She calmly breathed in and out a couple of times, in order to come back to her senses. She wouldn't, she couldn't annoy nor offend him like that. It wouldn't be fair.

Giving up on thinking over such matters, she attempted once again to understand what the conversation, which she was supposedly in, was about.

* * *

><p>Checking the house of the purple one was astonishingly easy. He didn't need to pass the guards and security systems. The lights were out, the car was gone. The purple mew was out, Ichigo obviously wasn't there.<p>

The blue mew's house was an entire different matter though. It was a castle. Of course he knew that already, but it still kept him wondering as he looked at it once again. This fortress was the home to only four people and their many servants. Why build it so big? What was the point? The only thing that all that space was good for was for parties and honestly, that blue mew didn't look like a party animal to him. The only party he had seen there, was the most boring party he ever witnessed and that said something when you consider that on the planet he came from, until a year ago, parties were very rare.

But back to business, he had more important things to do than think about parties. This colossal place would take him forever to get through. Getting in unseen, of course, was no problem, but nearly every light in the building seemed to be on. Ichigo could be anywhere in there. Sighing one last time, Kisshu teleported himself in.

'Ichigo, please be somewhere around here.'

* * *

><p>They had been here for an hour now. She had to go home in another hour or so. Halfway, she was halfway! By now he had gone from the Greeks to astronomy again, searching for constellations while he spoke and still held her hand. He hadn't let go of it for even a second since they had sat down, but she hardly felt his skin on hers anymore. And the fact that he was looking for constellations put her in a great position.<p>

She could dreamily stare at the sky, recalling what Kisshu and she told each other about the stars, without arousing Masaya's suspicion. They hadn't talked very much about it, because soon after starting the conversation, she asked him in what direction his planet was and then she started asking how it was there, what it looked like, what the people were like and so on, but they had shown each other some constellations that they knew about, like Orion and Lepus, before that and being able to find the same constellations again on her own made her smile.

It was almost like Kisshu was pointing along with her again. Thinking about it, she wondered why Kisshu knew about astronomy. She knew he was more intelligent than he initially made everyone believe, but why would he want to know what constellations humans made up here? Maybe to be able to find his way home again. 'Travelling through space must be really difficult, especially when you have to do it manually.' Ichigo figured. 'Constellations might form a map of some sorts.'

Soon, she wasn't even looking at the stars anymore. She was literally staring into space, imagining what it would be like to travel through it. She didn't noticed the clouds which were slowly making their way towards her and Masaya

* * *

><p>No such luck. No Ichigo in the whole damn building. Where the hell was she? Not home, not at the Café, not with her friends. At Aoyama's? No, he had passed that house already and the light of that guy's room was out. By now, Kisshu understood that that meant he was out. Wait a tick.<p>

If both Aoyama and Ichigo were out, one plus one equals two, they were on a date! Considering that it was that Aoyama-bastard that he was thinking about, Kisshu assumed that he would take Ichigo to a romantic place, to watch the full moon, because one: Why else couldn't a date wait until the weekend? And two: That tree hugger was a romantic slime ball like that.

But were would a slimy arsehole take a girl when they went out for stargazing? To place with as less light as possible, because otherwise you cannot take a good look at the stars. That should narrow the choices down a bit, right? A place with little to no light… The park, of course. And as a romantic detail, he probable took her to the clearing with the cherry blossom.

Kisshu was both proud and disgusted because of his ability to figure the tree hugger out. He didn't waste time on standing still though, he took off towards the park. As he did, he studied the sky a bit. A bloody heavy storm was coming, that was obvious. It wouldn't take long either before those clouds would cover the entire city of Tokyo. 'Brilliant.' Kisshu thought grumpily.

His mood brightened up when he looked at the stars which were still visible, though. Orion, the great hunter, was very obviously present. He was there to cheer him on, wasn't he? Smirking, Kisshu sped up, the cherry blossom already coming into view. Tonight would be his.

* * *

><p>Masaya suddenly called her back to Earth again. "Ichigo, we should go home now, there's hardly anything to see anymore, besides the moon and a few constellations we've already talked about and it looks like it's going to rain rather hard, so let's go."<p>

He was right. The clouds had come very close now and they looked very dark. Looking at her watch she realised she would be home three quarters of an hour early than she had expected. Masaya got up and she followed suit. He pocketed the blankets and the sweets, which they hadn't even touched. Since she couldn't assist him, she looked at the sky for a moment. And she swore she saw something drop out of the sky into some bushes on the other side of the clearing.

She turned towards Masaya to tell him what she just saw and she nearly bumped her nose into his chest. He had silently come very, very, VERY close! Smiling at her shocked expression, he cupped her face and leaned forward, ready to kiss her. She squeezed her eyes shut, hoping it would be over soon-

"Hold on for a second, Romeo."

Masaya abruptly let go of her face, hissing a venomous "You."

As for Ichigo, she had never been so happy to hear that voice. His voice. Yet, at the same time, it felt unreal. She had to see it with her own eyes, so she turned around.

Yes, there he was, smirk on his face, arms crossed and a playful sparkle in his eyes. Kisshu.

Before Ichigo could react though, Masaya stepped in front of her and spoke up. "How dare you show your face! Didn't Ichigo tell you to stay out of her sight?"

Kisshu's smirk only broadened. "Hush, hush, Blue Knight. She told me to stay out of her sight, until I could prove my innocence, which I can now."

Masaya scoffed. "How?" Kisshu looked Masaya right in the eyes, which, even to Ichigo, looked rather intimidating, before he spoke again. "By pointing out who actually did it." Although it had become windy at the clearing and Kisshu spoke softly, because he articulated every syllable very clearly, it was like all the other sounds didn't even exist.

Ichigo couldn't see Masaya's face, but considering the fact that Kisshu still smirked broadly, Masaya had reacted just like Kisshu had expected him to.

That smug smirk was replaced by an annoyed frown when Masaya asked: "And who might that be?"

Kisshu, being clearly very irritated by the question for a reason unknown to Ichigo, slightly raised his voice, while replying: "Don't play dumb with me! You know all too well who killed that drunk man and the girl, bastard!"

Masaya started to tremble a little. Vaguely Ichigo could make out the words he said. "Shut up… Shut up…" was what he mumbled.

The intensity of Kisshu's glare rose and ignoring Masaya's constant mumbling, Kisshu stated:

"Don't deny it, Aoyama. You killed them."

The sky rumbled and the rain began to fall.

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><p><strong>A.N. DUN DUN DUN DUNNNNNN!<strong>

**What do you think? Good, bad, pathetic, awesome?**

**Write me a review! =D **


	24. Stalker, Liar, Murderer

**A.N. Well, it took a while, but here's chapter 24! ^^**

**The whole plot is falling into place. Dun dun dun DUN!**

**Anyway, instead of chattering away, I will shut up and let you read the chapter. (I myself hate long pointless author's notes, both reading and writing them, so I won't bug you further.)**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>"Ma…sa…ya..?" Ichigo choked out. What was this? Kisshu… He couldn't be serious. Masaya…? No…<p>

As the raindrops fell and hit the ground one by one, Masaya's trembling worsened. He was very much on the edge. But why? He didn't really kill them, did he? So why would he..? It made no sense at all! It wasn't true! It couldn't be! Why would he kill two of his own race? Two humans.

Kisshu wasn't in the least impressed by Masaya's display of… despair? He stared at the black-haired boy as said boy continued to mumble intelligible words, while clearly losing the ability to stand. As Kisshu watched the boy, he didn't smirk nor glare. He was just coldly staring him down, like he was watching a horrible actor in an even more terrible play.

Ichigo was still trying to get a grasp of the insanity she was suddenly pulled into, when Kisshu finally spoke again.

"Man up, would you? Instead of whining like a beaten dog, tell me why. Because I really don't quite get it."

Even though she really wanted to hug him, her anger got the best of her and Ichigo stepped in front of Masaya, her arms stretched in a protective manner, while she yelled at Kisshu: "You accuse him of something without even having a motive? How dare you!"

For a moment Kisshu looked like she slapped him in the face, but that expression was quickly whipped off his face as Masaya lay his hand on Ichigo's shoulder (apparently he had regained control over himself).

"Don't worry, Ichigo, I'll handle him this time." Masaya whispered, smiling down on her in the kind way he always did. She had to stop him. That was all that she could think off, until a moment later, when she realised that that kind smile, which used to warm her heart instantly, didn't even seem to reach her anymore.

And in that moment, just that moment, she wondered if she should let him go. Just let him go. Kisshu had already proven himself a much better fighter than Masaya now and if they would seriously fight, Masaya would mercilessly go down. Wasn't that what she secretly wanted? Didn't she just wish him out of her life, so she could be free again? So she could finally tell Kisshu… Kish… what she felt?

The thought was brief though. They shouldn't fight. It would only result in both getting hurt and she didn't want to live with the guilt that she let it happen.

So she grabbed Masaya's hand, looking at him with a pleading look in her eyes, begging him not to go. "Don't, Masaya. Don't fight. I don't want you to fight."

The sky rumbled again and finally it got through to Ichigo that she was absolutely soaked. As was Masaya. She didn't dare to look at Kisshu though. Masaya had yet to reply, but Kisshu beat him to it and with an impeccable timing he asked: "Can you look her in the eye and tell her that you didn't kill them?"

His timing was impeccable, because just as he said that, she was staring Masaya right in the eye. And hell, did he look taken aback by that question! She wondered what that meant… It didn't mean that he… Right? She decided to just ask him. As she maintained eye contact, she gave him a questioning look and plainly asked:

"Well?"

He flinched visibly and looked at her in a lost way, like he had no idea as to where he had to go. Not a clue. And then he looked away. He looked away.

"I… can't…" he replied.

Now it was Ichigo's turn to feel like she'd been slapped in the face. He couldn't, that made it inevitably clear, right? He… He…

Ichigo's legs gave out and she dropped on her knees. Both guys made a move to come to her aid, but as they both glared each other, they both stopped in their tracks, knowing that they would be attacked by the other if they even thought about getting closer.

Meanwhile Ichigo was trying to process it. Masaya had killed. Twice. And he blamed Kish… But, how? How could he do it? He couldn't, right? Not Masaya. Not his own people. It had to be a lie. It was a dream. A nightmare. No! That she felt so cold and soaked was proof enough that she was awake! It was real and it was true! But… But…

"Why?" Ichigo cried out, dying for a proper explanation.

Masaya looked at her helplessly, as if he could make her understand telepathically. If that was really what he was attempting, then he sure as hell was failing horribly.

He gulped when she glared at him. Ichigo was quite sure that the times that she had directed her glare to him could be counted on one hand, so it really ought to make him understand how dangerously close she was to going berserk.

He gulped once again and stared his feet when he finally gave in. "..Alright. I killed them. But Ichigo…" Now he looked at her and the despair in his eyes was enough to make her glare evaporate. "… I did it all for you…"

"Cut the crap, tree hugger. Just spit out already." Kisshu apparently decided to remind them both of his presence. To Ichigo this was very distracting, but Masaya looked perfectly pissed off. Nevertheless, he ignored Kisshu and, while not daring to get closer to Ichigo, he threw her one of his blankets at her. In the corner of her eye, she saw Kisshu twitch, probably not trusting whatever object Masaya threw at her, even if it was a blanket. Ichigo had to bite her bottom lip to prevent a small smile from appearing.

Masaya gestured to the ground, as if he was inviting her to eat all the grass she could eat. Luckily, he added: "Sit down, this might take a while to explain properly." He stressed the word 'properly', meanwhile staring at Kisshu with a murderous glare, which could've been lethal, were it not for the fact that Kisshu was returning it with one of his own.

With the hope of not entirely ruining the blanket, Ichigo spread it out under the cherry tree and sat down. Masaya sat down a metre away from her, but the cherry tree being huge as it was, it still provided him with some shelter.

Kisshu made himself comfortable in the cherry tree, seating himself on one of the branches which conveniently put him between Masaya and Ichigo. In other words, if something were to occur, all he had to do was drop himself, to put himself right in the middle.

Masaya took a deep breath and then started to speak.

"It already started some weeks before HE" Masaya shot Kisshu a glare. "returned to Earth. You see, I was becoming more and more aware of the fact that our relationship" Now he nodded to Ichigo with obvious sadness clouding his eyes. "was falling to ruin. To top it off, someone started stalking me." He stared at his feet awkwardly, swallowed once, looked up again and answered the unasked question hanging in the air.

"My stalker was… Fuyou Yukka."

Ichigo gasped in surprise and looked at the guys in front/above her. Masaya had only eye for her and was caringly watching her face, to ascertain that no emotion would escape him. Kisshu, on the other hand, was glaring a hole in Masaya's head, while his eyes lit up. Things were falling into place in his head, that much Ichigo understood.

Masaya continued. "She blackmailed me. Threatened to hurt you, Ichigo. I had no choice! I had to dump you and date her or she would've done everything in her power to hurt both of us! Maybe even kill us!"

Kisshu chuckled softly, doing a poor job at trying to cover it up by clasping his hand in front of his mouth. Most likely he didn't really care if they saw and heard him or not. But what was so funny?

Masaya didn't bother to conceal his annoyance. "Shut up! You wouldn't have done anything different!" Then Kisshu chuckled even harder, now openly mocking Masaya by wagging his finger at him.

"That's where your wrong, Romeo. I would've scared the chick off the moment she started threatening Ichigo." Ichigo looked up at him in awe, somewhat flattered that he would go such lengths for her.

To emphasis his point, Kisshu tilted his head, put his finger on his chin and stared up, as if he was casually contemplating something, while he muttered: "Yes, a little wound or two. Perhaps an arm or a leg, to make the point inescapably clear…-"

"Can I go on now?" An agitated Masaya called. "Why yes, of course you can, silly guy. Don't let the big, bad alien get in your way." Yes, Kisshu was enjoyed himself to the fullest. It was all over his smug face.

After another malicious glare, Masaya turned to Ichigo and once again resumed his story. "Erm, well… I know I should've told you then, but I feared she would still go after you if I did, so I didn't. That evening I felt it. HIS presence." Masaya made a gesture at Kisshu, not sparing him a glance this time.

"And I knew I had made a great mistake. I knew he would take advantage of the situation. But what could I do? It took me three days. Three agonizing days of watching you while you felt awful, knowing I should've been by your side, working our relationship out-"

"Blurgh. Skip the lovey-dovey shit and get to the point already!" Kisshu hang upside down in the tree, making overdramatic puking sounds. 'Such a child sometimes.' Ichigo inwardly smiled.

Meanwhile, Masaya, uncharacteristically rolled his eyes and just went on without saying a word about Kisshu's behaviour. (Ichigo could practically hear his thoughts: 'He's just trying to piss me off, he's just trying to piss me off, he's just trying t- Hell, he's pissing me off!') "Anyway, the fourth day I had enough. I broke up with Fuyou-san first thing in the morning and asked you to meet me in the park. At that point, I planned on telling you, but we were… Interrupted."

As he glared at Kisshu, the other grinned back at him. "Yup, that was me! … Don't look at me like that, tree hugger, I don't regret a thing!"

Ichigo thought it best to intervene then, as she was sure that if she didn't, Masaya would attempt to rip Kisshu's head off.

"Anyway, Aoyama-kun, go on." Not the best thing she could've said.

"Ouch! Back to last name-basis, buddy! Going around killing people didn't really score you many points, huh?" Masaya closed his eyes a second, to get a grip on his anger, and faked ignorance.

"Point is that I didn't tell you. The argument we had after that didn't really help at all either. I just didn't want it. I really didn't want you to 'befriend' the likes of him.-" It was time for Ichigo to get a little irritated by the immature way Masaya referred to Kisshu. But only a little.

"What do you mean 'the likes of him'? Is it because he is an alien? Because that's just discrimination! I really believed you to be above-" Masaya had the nerve to interrupt her. "It's not because he's an alien, Ichigo! It's because his crush on you is way too big to actually make me believe that all he wants to be is 'buddies'!-" Kisshu didn't take that so well. "A CRUSH?" Masaya simply ignored him though.

"- Just the way he looks at you all the time is enough to verify that!" What Ichigo replied to that didn't only surprise the others, but herself too. "So what? I don't mind at all!"

For a moment it seemed like they had fallen in a vacuum. Even the surroundings didn't make a sound. Until Ichigo had enough of the awkward silence and the incredulous stares she received from both the guys.

Apart from absolutely shocked, Kisshu looked incredibly happy too, she noted, before she cleared her throat and said with a tiny voice: "So, what did you do after I left that day?"

Masaya awoke from his daze and continued his story once again, visibly praying that he would not be interrupted again.

"Well, I felt that the alien was around the entire time, so I followed you in my Blue Knight form, in case he tried something he should not be trying. I noticed he didn't follow though so I lingered between you two. Suddenly he was moving in all directions though and as I thought he was up to something, I chased after him. That's when I heard you yell. You yelled out HIS name…"

Masaya looked very hurt when he paused. Also, his eyes held something accusing, like he seriously blamed her for not calling out for him. Kisshu seemed to make a sport out of it to make as many comments as possible, for he took the chance to get Masaya on the edge again. "Yes she did, didn't she? She called for me, but really, let's be honest: Who wouldn't?"

As Masaya turned his gaze to the ground, Ichigo gave Kisshu a warning look, which he answered with a silent 'Yes, ma'am!' and a comical salute. For the first time, Ichigo allowed herself to smile at him and for a small moment he returned it with one of his own. A real actual smile, not a smirk.

Masaya however thought it a good moment to raise his head again apparently, so they both put their straight faces back on.

In a whisper, Masaya resumed where he left off. "You called out for HIM… And before I knew it he was right there by your side. I was at a loss. I felt angry with you for relying on an alien, whatever the reason, but I hated him for being where I was supposed to be. When you two left the scene, I immediately went there to take a look. I was not able to face you yet, I was too frustrated.

And what I found there was a drunk, bleeding man. He was heavily wounded, but he still could be saved, if I had called an ambulance right away. I didn't though, since it was painfully clear to me, why he was in that state. And just that once, I completely lost it. My anger towards you, my hate towards that alien and my hate towards the drunkard himself… I let it all out on him, knowing that no one would ever find out."

Ichigo sat there, wide eyed, hardly fathoming what he just told her. Tears were running down his face now, but she knew it could as well be an act. After all, he had lied to her the entire time. Even though they weren't at that part of the story yet, she already guessed that he had planned Fuyou-san's death and faked his complete episode of being heartbroken by it.

She opened her mouth to say something, anything, but he wordlessly shut her up, shaking his head. Even Kisshu didn't seem to have a proper joke to lighten the facts up. This information had hit him hard too… Too hard for him to speak. "So…" Or not. "You didn't plan that part out against me? Well, THAT I didn't expect. I figured you used your brains and killed him with a finishing blow, just so that I would surely be accused of murder by Ichigo. Manipulation of the facts in order to make her come to hate me."

"It was only later that I realised that that was indeed how it would seem to Ichigo. But at that moment… I kept cutting the man over and over like a madman, just releasing all the frustration and stress I had held onto up until then. I tore him up like an animal, even when he was already dead I continued. Once I regained my senses, it got through to me what I had done and my shame and guilt gnawed on me. Then it became clear to me that HE would be blamed for what I had done. So I got away from the crime scene as fast as possible, leaving it to others to find the corpse."

Slowly but surely, Ichigo began to lose her empathy. And while Kisshu was obviously aware of that, considering the cautious glances he cast in her direction every few seconds, Masaya looked as unaware as humanly possibly. Not only had he crudely finished off a human, he also let Kisshu take the blame for it. As his monologue went on and on, the word 'unforgivable' started jumping into her mind more and more often.

"It turned out that it wasn't quite enough to get you to abandon him, which I figured out by eavesdropping in my Blue Knight form. Ichigo, again I really need you to understand that it was all for the sake of us. I'm very sorry. When I sensed him very close to you I couldn't-"

Ichigo jumped up, her empathy completely evaporated in thin air and for the first time in her life she truly hated him. Tears formed in her eyes and she would swear that she saw red for a second. Not in her entire life had she felt like this, not even towards Deep Blue or Kisshu. Or Shirogane.

He broke up with her over something they could've worked out together, then got back together, like it was nothing, murdered and even eavesdropped on her! This guy surely didn't see who had in front of him.

"You unbelievable jerk! After all the trust I put in you, after all the time that I didn't poke my nose in any of the suspicious things you did, you don't even trust me a little bit and disrespect my privacy! You sure as hell got a lot of nerve to pull that trick on me, mister!-"

"Ichigo, calm down! You don't know what you're saying. I never did anything suspicious and if I did it was noth-" Masaya desperately shouted, hoping she would sit down again. He only added gasoline to the flame though. She had been locked up for too long, only to find out that her golden cage was nothing but a poorly crafted wooden one with golden paint. Peeved as she was, she wouldn't go easy on him now.

"-So now you're also implying I'm out of my mind for yelling at you? Well, I'm not about to stop! Do you have any idea of how proud and insolent you sound, expecting everyone to bow for you as you go, writing every person who goes against you off as crazy? You-" Just when Masaya started dreading she would never stop, Kisshu appeared behind Ichigo.

Wrapping his arms around her and hugging her close, he whispered in her ear: "That's enough, Ichigo. Let him speak, because his story's not over yet." Unwillingly, she felt a strange sense of calmness take her over. Her tensed body loosened up and she took a deep breath. That's what she shouldn't have done. The moment she breathed in his voice, his warmth and his scent truly got through to her and she had to repress the urge to return his hug. Luckily for her, he let go of her a second later, teleporting back to his spot.

A little bit disappointed, Ichigo sunk back on the blanket and listened as Masaya spoke up again. "Anyway, just outside your bedroom I thought up a plan to get rid of both Fuyou and him." This time, he only tilted his head in Kisshu's direction for a moment. Very creative, he was. "I knew there existed a pitch which had thee perfect frequency to break glass and possibly other things. Once that popped in my head, the rest was simple.

I invited both you and Fuyou-san to that exhibition, because that was a place full of glass and other things that the frequency would end up breaking. I downloaded a clip of the sound with the length of one minute. I too, beforehand figured out where the weak spots of the building were.

Besides that, there were quite some things I had to do while we were there. I had to distract you, so I could go on my 'date' with Fuyou-san, I had too lead her to a weak spot, I had to make sure she stayed there, while I went to the control room to play the sound on all the speakers and last but not least, I had to make sure you weren't in the dangerous area."

Looking down in what Ichigo hoped to be shame and despair, Masaya stated: "As we all know, it worked flawlessly. It was really fortunate that he" He tilted his head towards Kisshu again. "decided to show up. After that, all that I had left to do was act and eventually we would go back to how we used to be…"

Silence filled the air they breathed again. Ichigo now saw the weak straws of wood that was her cage and decided she wanted to break out. And so she would.

"Aoyama-kun." She said, raising her own head to look in his brown eyes, the eyes of a boy she had begun to detest. Those eyes stared back at her questioningly. "I'm afraid we will never go back to how it used to be. And it's not because of what you just told me."

Masaya looked like she had caught fire. And all she could do was smile. One by one, she was breaking the straws around her, her exit forming in front of her eyes. She could already taste the freedom on her lips.

"Aoyama-kun, we're over." Snap. "Not because you lied to me." Snap. "Not because you killed." Snap. "Not because you didn't trust me." Snap. "But because I've fallen in love with Kisshu."

Snap!

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><p><strong>A.N. How will Aoyama take the news after all his effort? What is Kisshu thinking? In short: What will happen?<strong>

**I might answer those questions in chapter 25!**

**Review, please! I'm very curious as to how you think I did. Are there many errors in spelling, grammar, content? Don't hesitate to inform me!**

**Onegai shimasu!**


	25. Down on Earth

**A.N. It's been a while again (please forgive me), but here it is: the final chapter! **

**Well, at least the final chapter for those who are not fond of a little bit of Masaya-bashing and I suppose a little OOCness. Not that this whole story wasn't a bit OOC, but that's what fanfiction requires sometimes to make a story work. XD Let's just say that I (thanks to one of my best friends) have a, in my opinion, funny epilogue in mind, but apart from that, the story is done. **

**Anyway, enjoy the 25th and 'final' chapter!**

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><p>Snap!<p>

The sound bounced around in Ichigo's head, like an echo, growing softer with each bounce. Finally it sunk in. Free, she was free. Free to do whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted. And it had only taken seven words. A small smile still lit up her face and her eyes seemed to really come alive as she waited for the world to react. No matter in which way, she would take it.

Surprisingly, it stayed awfully quiet. Ichigo had no idea what Kisshu's reaction was, since he was out of her view, up in the tree. Aoyama however stood right in front of her, his eyes popping out of their sockets, attempting to grasp what she just told him. They were over and he couldn't believe it. Minutes passed like this and Ichigo wondered why Kisshu still hadn't said a thing.

As realisation hit him, Aoyama's face started morphing from shocked to furious. It was unlike any face Ichigo had ever seen him make and she couldn't repress the urge to take a step back. He frightened her now. What was he going to do? And what was she going to do? Up until that moment, Ichigo hadn't thought about that little detail yet.

"So… So you're saying you're leaving me for that guy? THAT ALIEN?" Aoyama yelled at last, while trembling from head to toe and looking a bit red in the face. Ichigo opened her mouth to speak, but he imminently stepped forward, causing her to take a step back instead.

"I just don't get it, Ichigo!" He continued angrily. "How can you do this to me after all I've been through for you? After all we've done together? How are you going to explain this to your parents? How do you suppose you could make a relationship with HIM, a perverted jerk, work? TELL ME, ICHIGO! HOW?" He practically roared.

Ichigo had shrunken back while he screamed, but she straightened up with determination when she answered him. "I… I don't know yet. But I will find a way. As long as we love each other, it'll be fine."

This only infuriated Aoyama more though. "Wake up, Ichigo! This is not a fairytale! Princesses don't end up with ogres!"

"Luckily for us, I am not an ogre." Apparently Kisshu decided it was time for him to join the conversation. That didn't help Aoyama's mood in any way. "SHUT UP! You sure have a lot of nerve to barge in here and ruin everything I worked for! If you ever truly loved Ichigo, you wouldn't have come back and destroyed the happy life we had!"

Aoyama had already said enough to totally piss Kisshu off. Kisshu drew his weapons and hissed: "How dare you question my love for Ichigo and blame me for the fact that you just haven't proven yourself worthy enough! Happy life? Don't make me laugh! You ruined your own chances the moment you tried to forbid her to befriend me. You should know better than trying to lock cats up! If YOU truly love Ichigo, you turn around and walk away, NOW!"

The threat proved itself not clear enough, for Aoyama merely calmly replied: "Why don't you try and make me, alien?" Kisshu gripped his weapons, lifting them to the level of Aoyama's throat. "With pleasure." he said through clenched teeth, his words dripping with malice. Blue light surrounded Aoyama for a moment and when it died out, Blue Knight stood in his place, his sword already drawn and aimed to kill.

This obviously was the moment for Ichigo to cut in. Sadly, dear Ichigo is as reckless as a cat sometimes and decided that it was wise to step between two guys with weapons and so much killing intent that it was nearly tangible. Fortunately for her, both guys happened to be head over heels in love with her.

"Stop it! I don't want you to fight! Not again…!" Tears formed in her eyes and she held back a sob. "Please…" She made eye contact with both of the guys. "No more…" The reactions differed considerably. Whereas Kisshu lowered his weapons and looked sad, whether it was because of her tears or because she intervened with his battle with his archenemy, she wasn't sure, but either way he reacted more towards her expectations than Blue Knight.

The Knight didn't move a muscle, his eyes remained cold as ice and his sword now aimed at Ichigo's face. Especially the last part shocked Ichigo. He wouldn't attack her, right? She was in for an even bigger surprise when he spoke up though. "Ichigo, you have three seconds to step aside. If you do not, you will be as much my enemy as him and I will treat you accordingly." She stared at him with the horror evident on her face.

"One…"

"What? Aoyama-san, please! You always take the pacifistic road, you know that there is no need for violence, don't you?" Ichigo exclaimed, staring in his cold eyes pleadingly. But the blue eyes stayed hardened. Was it really no use? Kisshu seemingly thought so, because he begged her to move aside. "Ichigo, you don't have to get involved into this any further! Let me fix this! Please, Ichigo!"

"Two…"

He stretched the word, making it more threatening than it already was. "Aoyama-san, stop, please! I don't want it to end like this! Put the sword down! We can talk about it, so please…!"

Aoyama opened his mouth and slightly bent his arm, while Kisshu grabbed Ichigo's arm and his weapons evaporated. "Ichigo..!"

"Three."

The word had barely crossed his lips when Blue Knight swung his sword horizontally. At the same time, Kisshu pulled Ichigo back. So instead of losing her head, Ichigo only got a cut in her right cheek. While Blue Knight retreated slightly, Ichigo slowly raised her hand and touched her damaged cheek. The blood trickled down her face and onto her hand. When she pulled her hand away, extended it a bit and looked at it, she noticed that it was much blood. The cut had been quite deep.

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><p>While Ichigo still was immobilized by disbelief, Kisshu moved at a speed lightening would be envious of. Kisshu lifted Ichigo up in his arms, bridal style, made her sit down under the cherry tree and dashed towards the Blue Knight, drawing his Sai's again as he went.<p>

"How dare you!" he roared as they clashed with the Knight's sword. The Blue Knight didn't answer him, he only stared.

'I'm going to commit an actual murder tonight!' Kisshu thought fiercely. Ticked off was an understatement compared to how he felt. And he would verbally and physically show that fucker exactly how he felt!

"How dare you…!" Clash. "…raise…!" Clang! "… your…!" Cling! "… damn sword at…!" Clang! "…HER!" Kisshu finally got him! He managed to land a good hit in the right side of the Blue Knight, who flinched and backed away to take a look at the damage he had taken. Kisshu was ruthless though and continued to come at him, not giving him time to patch him self up.

It looked very good for Kisshu. He only had a few scratches on him, while the Blue Knight struggled to block incoming attacks. Nevertheless, the Knight still hadn't lost his confidence yet. And this was what vexed Kisshu a little. So he was determined to drive the Blue Knight to the edge.

Kisshu charged at him once more, this time faster and with more power than he had done so far, forcing his opponent against a tree, his Sai's ready to slit his throat. "What's your trump card, tree hugger? What else have you got? You'd better use it now, or it'll be the end of you!" Despite the pain he was without a doubt in, the Blue Knight smirked. For probably the first time in his life, he smirked. A worrisome achievement, Kisshu vaguely noted.

"As you wish, idiot." The Blue Knight spoke, with a voice which didn't quite sound like him. His voice seemed mixed with something else. Something familiar. An instant later an energy burst erupted from the Knight and Kisshu was blown a few metres backwards. Although he landed on his feet, Kisshu felt like he fell over.

The Blue Knight looked mostly the same, but his hair had become darker. Almost black, just like…

"Deep Blue…" Kisshu whispered.

"Very good, yet not entirely correct." Deep Blue Knight said, still smirking. "But…-" "How? Understandable question, which I will gladly answer before I kill you. First of all, Deep Blue is, as we all know, dead. So don't worry, he has not been revived or anything of that kind." Kisshu stared at him, confused by what he just said. 'How can that guy be Deep Blue when Deep Blue is dead?'

"Although he is dead, somehow his power remained in this body and only recently I learned how to summon it. You could say that it is an upgrade of my Blue Knight form. It enhances my speed, strength, stamina and agility. Also, it enables me to use some of Deep Blue's abilities, like this one."

A white orb formed on his pointing finger as he pointed it at Kisshu. Kisshu's eyes widened as he recognised the ability.

As a thin, long lightening bolt shot from Deep Blue Knight's, aka damn powerful bastard -Kisshu's personal nickname for him since that exact moment-, finger, Kisshu jumped in the air and successfully dodged it. Only to have another shot at him. Which he again dodged. They went on like this a couple of times more. Kisshu tried to find a hole in the bastard's defence, but found none.

It seemed the tables had turned, because even though he hadn't landed a hit yet, Deep Blue Knight obviously had the upper hand now. And after a few minutes of fruitless searching on Kisshu's part and firing attacks on the Knight's part, Kisshu unavoidably got a little too tired. He was hit straight in his stomach, while being ten feet in the air.

He managed to land without breaking his bones, which was an achievement on it's own, since it looked more like a crash than a landing. He lay there on his stomach, in the wet grass and he realised that he couldn't do it. He couldn't win. He was about to fail Ichigo once again. 'No!'

He clenched his fists and got up on his hands and knees, trembling as hell, but getting up nonetheless! He wouldn't go down the same road again! He was not going to die for her this time! He would bloody damn live for her! He wouldn't leave her again! No way in Hell!

Trying to get on his feet again, Kisshu heard the bastard's mocking voice: "You really have a death-wish, don't you? If that's what you want, I'll be glad to grant your wish."

He heard the Knight come closer and he could tell from the light above him that the guy was going to blow him up, like Deep Blue nearly blew up Ichigo. Only this time, he would succeed.

'No! No, he won't! Get up and fight! C'mon, wimp, get up!' Kisshu mentally urged himself. However he still couldn't get up. He had to, but he couldn't. He had to, so he would. But he couldn't, so how would he? 'Come on! Get up!' He tried again. The light brightened and grew. He was too late. Was he really going to die like this?

Slap!

The light died out quickly. Apparently he was not going to die just yet.

"Unforgivable!" Ah, that one sweet word he heard so often was for once not directed to him

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><p>It all passed her by. The fight. The shouting. All she knew was that Kisshu, her Kish, was winning. Then one moment later he was on the ground. Why was he on the ground? Why did Aoyama's voice sound so… Wrong…? Kill… He was going to kill Kish? No. She couldn't let it happen. She couldn't let him die. She couldn't let him die for her. He did that once. Not again. She had to move and prevent that bastard from killing her Kish.<p>

Before she knew it she was on her feet. She saw Kisshu struggling to stand up, his head bowed, panting because of the effort. Only now that she was right in front of him, Aoyama noticed her. There was something off about his appearance, but she paid no attention to that. Without thinking, she raised her hand and….

Slap!

Her flat hand collided with his right cheek with that satisfying sound. Maybe it was the familiar situation, maybe she knew nothing better to say or maybe it was her subconscious way of secretly giving him the middle finger, whatever the reason, she cried out: "Unforgivable!"

It was now Aoyama's turn to be very, very shocked. Stunned as he was, he stood there, his mouth a little open, not even bothering to raise his hand and touch his cheek. But he had already lost her attention. She turned her head and looked behind her. Kish was still panting, but looked strangely happy. He wasn't smiling, he just had that sparkle in his eyes that yelled 'amusement!'.

"Kish! Get up and do something!" She shouted. Her words were harsh, but her voice betrayed her relief. Kish's smile only broadened. "Feisty as always… Well, forgive me, my fair lady, for almost dying." He deliberately emphasized the word 'dying', causing Ichigo to blush like mad. "Y-you sh-should know be-etter than d-d-dying on m-me!" He nodded, said "I know.." and looked at her in a way she hadn't seen him looking at her before. Lovingly. Right then it all fitted. She knew what they were fighting for.

The moment got ruined by a hand which wrapped itself around her throat. He eyes widened in surprise and Kish's narrowed, the fury igniting in them, ready to fire. As he leapt forward, with his weapons appearing in his hands again, she had the itching feeling that everything was about to blow.

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><p>One moment. One moment with her alone. One moment his concentration slipped from his opponent to the beautiful girl in front of him. The girl it was all about. But the bastard took advantage of it, pulling him back into their fight instantly. Kisshu was not about to let him harm her again. One cut in the cheek was as far as he would let him get.<p>

Kisshu attempted to cut the hand on Ichigo's throat off, but the Knight leaped backwards. While his enemy was still in the middle of his leap, Kisshu teleported behind him, forcing him to lose his grip on Ichigo. She used the opportunity to bite in his hand, causing him to growl in pain and cradle his wounded hand with the other. This was a stupid mistake, since he dropped his own sword.

Moving as fast as he could Kisshu threw one of his own Sai's at Ichigo who was jumping backwards, away from the fight. As she caught his, he caught the Deep Blue Knight's sword, letting his other Sai evaporate, so he held onto the Knight's sword with both hands. They were still off the ground when Kisshu drove the sword with all his might straight in the Deep Blue Knight's left shoulder.

Because of the speed and power in Kisshu's attacks, they kept on flying in an horizontal line until they finally hit an object: The cherry tree in the middle of the clearing. Stepping away from his opponent, Kisshu beheld a gruesome sight. The Knight hung against the grand cherry tree, pinned to the spot by his own sword. His feet dangled a feet or so above the ground and the blood was everywhere.

Slowly but surely, his dark hair turned light again. He had used so much energy and was so severely wounded that he could no longer gain access to Deep Blue's power. He panted and coughed, attempted to pull the sword out, but it was no use. Looking at the pathetic creature that once was his enemy, Kisshu summoned his single Sai.

"It's time to end this…" he declared, pointing his Sai at the Knight's heart. He was about to bring it down when he felt a careful, soft hand on his shoulder. "Don't, Kish." Ichigo whispered, her voice giving away nothing but care. "I don't want you to become a murderer…"

He wanted to run the guy through. Hell yes, it would make his bloody day perfect. Just the thought of running him through and stab him some more after his death was very appealing. So should he obey Ichigo's wish or regardless of her opinion kill the asshole? He preferred the later, but he already knew he would go for the former anyway. He put his weapon down, snarled at the tree hugger a last time and walked away.

He waited at the edge of the clearing for Ichigo, who had a quick last word with her ex-boyfriend. Well, she mostly did the talking, for he didn't exactly have the energy for more than some short sentences, coughing , panting and bleeding.

Eventually, she coldly turned around and walked towards Kisshu with big steps. However, she didn't stop until their noses were hardly a few centimetres apart. Almost, just almost, Kisshu wondered if she was boldly going to kiss him. She didn't though. Instead, she cried a few tears and hugged him. Much like when they had befriended, Kisshu felt intoxicated by her smell. Notwithstanding the control he lost by doing so, he breathed her in.

Her scent made his nostrils tingle. Her breath in made the hair in his neck stand up straight. Her touch made him feel like his skin was on fire. Her content sigh was like a symphony. Yes, this girl was enough to make him go completely nuts. And he didn't give a rat's ass, as long as she wouldn't leave.

It took a few minutes standing with her in his arms, but in the end Kisshu couldn't help himself anymore. He loosened his grip on her, which automatically resulted in her moving away, albeit a bit reluctantly. Her eyes became sausages when he carefully cupped her face and pulled her close. She stiffened, until she looked him in the eye and he gave her a reassuring look. She relaxed again and closed her eyes. That was all the permission Kisshu needed.

Closing the small gap between them, he kissed her on her strawberry lips.

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><p><strong>Finally, after dreaming for two years, his dream became reality. Now he knew why he had come down to Earth.<strong>

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><p><strong>A.N. <strong>**Well... That was it. I hope you like it and I lived up to your expectations a bit. And if I didn't I hope you don't mind too much... ^^;**

**Review please! It might help me, if I decide to write another story.**

**See ya!**


	26. Epilogue: Death by?

**A.N. I've taken my time for sure, but now I semi-proudly present to you my final piece (in which I finally can express my frustration towards a certain character)!**

**Hopefully you enjoy this epilogue of _Coming down to Earth_!**

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><p>He wasn't sure how long he had been hanging there. Minutes or hours, he wasn't sure. There was no way of telling, since the stars and the moon had hidden themselves from his view. No matter how much time had passed, he still couldn't wrap his mind around how he wound up here, nailed to a tree, bleeding, hoping that someone would find him before he had bled to death.<p>

How did he wind up here? How could the girl that once had loved and adored him so coldly have turned her back on him. For that guy. That alien. The thought alone was enough to make him growl in frustration and hatred. He tightened his grip on his sword to release his anger, but immediately regretted it. The cuts in his hands were quite deep. Nevertheless they were just an ache on top of the excruciating pain in his shoulder.

For a moment he considered just letting go of his sword. That way, his own weight would pull him down, meaning that he would enlarge the huge wound in his shoulder. Maybe he would even drop to the ground, if his sword managed to break his collarbone. If not he would keep dangling on his sword and since there would be no balance, he would keep moving, making his wound only bigger and bigger. It would be Hell.

So for the sake of having hope to survive, he clung to his sword, trying not to cut himself more than he absolutely had to. His arms were exhausted, the only thing that kept them from relaxing was the adrenalin soaring through his veins, his body's representation of its survival instinct. Then again, he wasn't stupid. Whereas his body had not given up yet, his mind had long since fallen into despair and every now and then he tried to find peace in dying. However he couldn't find it.

Right there, Aoyama Masaya ironically for the first time DIDN'T WANT TO DIE.

A smile forced itself on his face, barely a few seconds later he began to chuckle and even though it hurt like freaking Hell, soon that chuckle grew into a full-blown laughing fit. He was losing it because of the pain and he knew it. Yet he didn't care. The girl he loved was gone. Hated his guts and was gone. She had run off with the one bastard he hated even more than he hated the whole of mankind for polluting the Earth.

His laughter died down and turned into sobs. They racked through his body. Why? He had been prepared to do anything, anything at all for her! He became a murderer: For her! And yet… She had rejected him, loathed him, told him that he should hope for someone to feel like taking a night stroll through the park, because she wasn't going to help him out this time. She left him pinned to a tree, to die. Slowly and painfully.

Momomiya Ichigo. If he had had the strength, he would have screamed out her name. But he didn't. He was too weak. He was coughing and panting and focusing on not letting go of that cursed sword. That was all he could do now.

Suddenly, he noticed something. The bangs which always hung in front of his ears were slowly getting shorter and darker. His power to remain the Blue Knight was running out.

Fear curled itself around his heart and he was inwardly chanting, begging the power to stay. If he turned back into Aoyama Masaya, there was no way he'd survive. That body was weaker, would be wounded more easily and took much, much longer to heal wounds. No good. This was no good at all.

The sky above him started to rumble. Great, now the rain would make his wounds even worse, not to mention the fact that his hands were more likely to slip when his blade was wet and if that happened…

'Whatever gods there are, they really must have me.' He thought bitterly. A minute later, it started to drizzle. Soon, it would start storming…

And like that, he hung there, still bleeding, still coughing, still despairing. But for how long?

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><p>She looked like an angel, the way she lay there, sleeping innocently, dreaming an innocent dream. Well, innocent… She proved herself to not be as innocent as she looked. She was a cat after all, innocent, but moreover stubborn and impossible to keep control over. There was no way that she would let you forget that she had a mind of her own. And Kisshu had just discovered it could be a bit of naughty mind. Of course, as soon as he had begun to really study her, back when they were still enemies, he already suspected this, yet it still pleased him to have his suspicions confirmed.<p>

He stroked her hair softly and recalled how he had wound up here, in her room, sitting on her bed, while she had fallen asleep next to him.

After kissing her and for the first time actually getting a response, he couldn't help but kiss her some more. At some point she softly pushed him off, whispering 'Not here.' in a way that made all his hairs stand up, and they quickly left the park going straight to her home. She transformed back into her human form, told her parents she was home and he had waited for her in her room.

When she finally had spent a reasonable amount of time with her parents, to prevent them from becoming suspicious about anything, she had come to him. While she carefully closed the door, he had been floating around her room a bit. Sheepishly scratching her head, with a little blush on her face, she had apologetically told him: "Sorry for taking so long, but they had been worrying. It's rather late after all, even for going out stargazing."

He had merely shrugged and smiled. "Well, I don't mind, I have all the time in the world." They ended up chatting about everything that came to mind. A bit about life on Earth and on Kisshu's planet, anecdotes about the most silly things, they even shared some jokes and after those discussed how they were going to make it work out. She had even talked about meeting her parents, but he had subtly postponed that certain event.

Eventually, they ended up kissing. And this time, he had not initiated it! He was in the middle of a sentence when she had cheekily interrupted him, by kissing his cheek. Naturally, he had his revenge and had kissed both her cheeks and nose, and before he had known what hit him, she had boldly been kissing his lips. And he hadn't been the one to object..

At some point, they had heard the faint sound of footsteps coming up the stairs. Ichigo had quickly let go of him, motioning that he should hide, which he then had done. And indeed, the sound had stopped right before her door. Her mother had knocked softly and had said through the door: "Ichigo dear, time to go to bed, you'll be exhausted tomorrow." "Yes, mom." Ichigo had replied. Her mother had apparently been satisfied with that, because the sound of her footsteps had immediately afterwards moved away from the door, to the room down the hallway.

He had come out of his hiding place and Ichigo had cheekily smiled at him, grabbed her pyjamas and said 'I'll be right back.' after which she had gone to the bathroom and about a quarter of an hour later, she had been back, kissed him goodnight and went to bed.

And now here he was, stroking her hair, as she steadily breathed in and out in a relaxed rhythm. Her former boyfriend somehow found a way into his mind though. What if he didn't die? What if he would come after them?

Kisshu tried to get Aoyama from his mind, however his efforts were futile. In the end, he gave in to his desire to check on his dying enemy. And when he thought 'check', he actually meant kill. Even if Ichigo didn't want him to, he knew he wouldn't sleep before he was completely sure that the asshole was as dead as possible.

So he kissed Ichigo's forehead, whispered: "I'm sorry, Koneko-chan, but it has to be done." and while Ichigo rolled on her side and grunted, he teleported himself to the clearing where the bastard would be.

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><p>He had forgotten about the weather. The moment he arrived in the park, he was soaked. The thunder grumbled and every now and then a streak of lightening would light up the night sky. The lightening was dangerously close… Kisshu inwardly shrugged at this observation. He would have to make it quick.<p>

With that in mind, he flew over to the cherry tree, to find that the object of most of his hate was still right where he left him. Pinned to a bloody tree with his own sword. Heh.

Figuring that he might as well make his presence known, he spoke: "You don't look as strong as you used to, Blue Knight. What's the matter? Bleeding to death much?" When a pain filled, furious, but faint growl was all the reply he got, he smirked and remarked: "I see, I nailed your problem, didn't I?"

"Leave." Was the only word the Blue Knight could mutter. "Well, it seems dying slowly and painfully is putting you in a foul humor, isn't it?" Right then, Kisshu noticed something. The Blue Knight's hair was darker and shorter than before and when he looked up to snarl at him and mutter something intelligible, Kisshu also saw brownish flecks in what were supposed to be clear blue eyes.

This had to mean the Knight was losing his power. Soon, he would be a mere, powerless human again. Once that had happened, his death would only be a few tiny minutes away… Kisshu's smirk broadened. He had two options: He could wait for the arsehole to turn back into his human form and watch him die, without laying a hand on him, or he could simply have a miniscule bit of mercy on the guy and just kill him now.

Though the more tormenting option number one had his preference, he knew that, with the lightening so dangerously close and him being close to fairly high trees, his time was limited, so it would be wiser to go for option two. Even if it would make him an actual murderer.

Meanwhile, when Kisshu was contemplating, the thunder started to roar harder and lightening was striking closer to the cherry tree every time. This happened unnoticed by both of the two guys.

Making up his mind, he turned his attention to the coughing, panting, bleeding miserable creature in front of him. As he summoned his Sai, he spoke up: "Okay, listen closely, would you? Because I'm not the most awful, cruel person in the universe-"

The Knight/Aoyama-guy let out a hiss, which probably was his attempt at a disdainful snort. "As I was saying…" Irritated, Kisshu poked the idiot harshly in his belly with his Sai, resulting in a groan from his victim and a small wound on said victim's belly.

"As I was saying, since I'm not the most awful, ruthless guy in the universe, I have decided that I will spare your sorry arse further agony and kill you right now."

Aoyama-guy/The Knight's head snapped up in surprise and shock. After a few seconds of letting the information really get to him, he started to shout panic-stricken. "Don't! Stay away from me! She told you not to, so-!" Being very annoyed, Kisshu growled: "Be a man in the face of death will you! Were you a pathetic coward like this the last time you were about to die as well?"

"What do you know about last time? You were dead then!" Fear was edged on every single inch of his face as the coward was frantically looking for a way to escape, as if he didn't already know there was none. He looked like he was seriously losing it.

"I have my ways…" Kisshu stated mysteriously, an unreadable gleam in his eyes.

While his dying enemy was still looking for a way out, Kisshu took his position a few metres away, his Sais ready to strike. The rain was still pouring, thunder grumbled and roared and a second later the lightening struck a tree nearby. However Kisshu was too occupied to see this.

"Aoyama Masaya…" He begun, strangely quiet and formal, but still his words made the boy in question's attention turn to him and obviously Aoyama was utterly terrified. He started struggling, in a final attempt to pull his sword out of his shoulder, in the back of his mind already knowing it was useless. ".. Tonight you will die!"

The thunder roared as Kisshu leaped forward. "By my-!" He never got to finish that sentence, because at that moment he saw a bolt of lightning as it went straight for the cherry tree Aoyama was pinned onto. Immediately Kisshu halted and as he pushes himself off the ground, flying backwards, lightening struck the tree and with it, Aoyama. The guy hardly knew what hit him, but nonetheless he let out a deafening last scream, before all the electricity was gone. Aoyama made a few spastic movements with his arms and legs before he went completely limp.

After staring at the body of his dead enemy disbelievingly for a few minutes, Kisshu eventually started to move again. Finally. Finally he was irreversibly gone. It had taken him two years to have this wish fulfilled and because of that it took a while to sink in. Dead. Actually, finally dead.

Rather than leaving him like that, still nailed to a tree, Kisshu decided to put his hate aside one last time, so he could at least be respectful. He walked up to the tree, flew a little upward, just so he was on the right level and pulled the Blue Knight's sword out of his shoulder. As soon as the blade didn't touch him anymore, the last traces of the Blue Knight disappeared, leaving a small-eared, black-haired, brown-eyed, broken, bleeding Aoyama Masaya in his place.

Firstly, Kisshu closed his eyes properly, because he had a wide-eyed shocked face at first. Next thing Kisshu did was laying the body out in the open, in the rain, to hopefully get it cleaned somewhat. Perhaps if it was clean enough, he could leave it near some road, so it would look like some sort of accident. Leaving it in the park was out of the question, now that it looked like his human self. Ichigo could be suspected of murder. Somewhere next to a road a good end away from there, it would be.

The final thing Kisshu would do, was bury the sword. As the body was being cleaned by the rain, he dug a hole near the cherry tree and carefully placed the sword in it. For a moment or two, he looked at the sword with a vacant expression, but then he shook it off and closed the hole up. Just as he finished that, he realised that it had stopped raining.

He dragged the body with him through Tokyo, until he found a suitable spot. There he put it down and without looking back, he left it.

As he washed off the bloodstains in a small river, he realised two things: One, it was beginning to get lighter, so he would have to hurry up a little, otherwise Ichigo might notice that he's gone. Two, he had been terribly lucky. The lightening had finished that guy off, before he could do it. As if someone up there didn't want him to be the one to actually kill that guy.

Smiling, he looked up at the sky, where he saw the clouds become less dark. Yes, it would take a while until they would all be gone, but that didn't matter. He would be patient. He had the girl of his dreams with him now, after all. '…Yup. Someone up there definitely loves me.' He thought cheerfully.

With that thought still on his mind, he took off again. He was heading back to Ichigo. He was heading back home. 'Ah, home…'

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><p><strong>A.N. Well, that was it, my dear readers. Please leave a final review.<strong>

**I thank you very much for reading this until the end! **

**Goodbye!**


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